A war of Hearts
by ZombieBlinky
Summary: Atemu, Prince of Egypt goes off to fight for his people, disgused as a soldier. Yuugi, the captain of his company is unaware that his prince is in his midst. My twist on Mulan AtemuYamixYuugi, RyouxBakura, JoeyxSeto
1. Who am I?

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN YuGiOh OR MULAN!**

MY AUTHOR'S NOTE IS ON THE BOTTOM

* * *

Egypt. 

Ruled over by the Pharaoh. He was called 'Pharaoh' by the Greeks, but his own people called him 'The living Horus', 'High Priest of Every Temple', and the most interesting in my opinion, 'The Lord of the Two Lands'.

This very remarkable country was believed to be divided into two very different sections. These sections were known as _'The_ _Black_ _Lands'_ and _'The_ _Red_ _Lands'_. The earth that touched the great Nile river grew very fertile. This was the only place in Egypt where the people could really live and flourish. This was called _'The_ _Black_ _Lands'_. On the east side of the Nile, and basically everywhere else in Egypt was _'The_ _Red_ _Lands',_ these lands were Barren Wastelands. The Desert, Ruled over by the God of Chaos and Destruction, Seth, he whom controlled the Desert.

The Red Lands' harsh environment protected Egypt from invasion many, many times. Rich with gold, precious gems, and resourceful, hardworking citizens, Egypt was a prize many rival states lusted after. And at this particular moment, it was the country Libya that sought after Egypt's bounty.

But the countrys' harsh Red lands would not give up without a fight. It protected its people for many years, resulting in the deaths of many Libian soilders who were unable to cross it's fiery desert. After many failed attempts at an invasion, the Egyptian people believed they were safe, often thanking Seth, the God who controlled the Desert, and the Living Horus; Their embodiement of a God on earth.

Little did they know, Dartz, the head of the Libian force, had a much greater goal in mind. He was determined to seize Egypt for himself; he would soil the Nile, burn their fertile lands, rape their women, and drive the Gods themselves from the land in which they ruled supreme. He was a patient man, and was willing to wait for the right moment to strike.

The time came when they ruler of Sudan died and was replaced by him incompetent son. The son, who can grown fat and lazu from living a spoiled life in his palace knew nothing of the dangers his neglect to his borders would bring. So, Dartz and his men were able to slip past the boundrys of Sudan and sneak along the Nile. They charged into Egypt's border through the Black lands, taking it's people unaware...

* * *

Solomon, Egypts' finest General burst through the palace doors. "I must speak with the Pharaoh!" He barked, brushing past the flimsy string of palace guards that attempted to stop him. He whirled towards them, his dark blue cloak flaring about him in anger. " 

Get to your posts you blasted cream puffs!" He roared, glaring at the youths. His look was scary enough to disperse the small crowd faster then one could say 'The Shadow Realm' leaving the old general to himself.

He crossed his arms, feeling a bit smug. "These old bones still got it in them!"

"Yes they do."

Solomon turned in surprise, "Ah Seto m'boy, How are you?" He didn't have time for pleasentries, but knowing the High Priest, it would be unwise not to be semi-polite towards him.

The tall priest turned his blue eyes towards the elder's violet gaze. "Well enough." His liips pressed into a hard line. "I suppose there's some reason you woke up half the palace at this hour and scared off all the guards."

The General, who didn't care enough for the time, shot a look out the window. The sky was indeed black, proving the Goddess Nut had swallowed Ra the sun god for the day. "I apologize." He reploed, a note of impatience coloring his tone, "But I really need to speak with his Highness."

Seto quirked an eyebrow. "So I heard." He remarked coldly. His tan finger rubbed the point of his millenium rod absently. "Unfortunatly, the Pharaoh is preoccupied with other matters and will return at midday."

"And what is so important that requires his presence?!" The old man demanded in annoyance.

The high priest didn't answer at first, opting instead to twirl his Millenium Rod between his broad hands. His lips tugged at the corner, curving up into a ghost of a smile as though remembering a funny joke.

"He getting ready for the battle of his life."

* * *

Atemu moved as silently as he could against the granite floor of the palace. His crimson eyes searched for an escape route; they soon found one at the far end of the hallway. He crouched behind a jar just as he hear voices echoing behind him." I think he went that way!" 

"Don't let him get away!"

He fought back a small chuckle, reasoning that he could celebrate once he escaped the fate the pharaoh had brought down on him. Speaking of escaping, the young prince was only a few feet from freedom.

_"THERE YOU ARE!"_

The teenager mentally cringed as the familiar figure made his way towards him.

"Hello Father." Atemu muttered, straightening up. Crimson me crimson, their only realy distinguishing feature that showed their relation to each other. The Pharaoh stood tall, his fists balled at his waist. His skin a darkened tan, close to a milk chocolate. Golden bands cuffed his wrists and neck, a dusted gold sundisk adorned his head, on his forehead the eye of Horus glared down at Atemu from a crown. An upside down pyramid hung on his chest gleaming also with the eye of Horus.

Atemu wasn't nearly as tall, but he had a cool aura about him that shone with confidence; this gave him an extra four inches. His tan wasn't quite as dark as his fathers, it was a bronzed verison of the sun. He wore plain cotton Egyptian styled pants and two gold arm-bands. His black spikey hair was tipped with burgandy tints, oddly his blond bangs shot upward like lightning bolts, giving him a wild and exotic appearence.

"My son." The pharaoh began sternly. "You were supposed to be getting ready to meet you suitor; she will be here at any moment."

The prince crossed his arms and stared back at his father with defience. "I don't like her father." He pleaded, "You know I don't find women attractive. I've never liked any of the suitors you've set up for me."

"This is the last suitor, "Akunamukanon sighed and placed a hand on his sons shoulder, "You haven't even met her yet. You never know, you might end up liking her."

Atemu believed that was unlikely, but his father's grip on his shoulder tightened, destroying any chance of escape. He sighed and let himself be taken away.

"Make me proud Atemu."

He sighed, before replying softly, "I'll try father..."

* * *

The servents who had been in charge of getting Atemu ready almost had a heart attack when they saw their prince covered head to toe in soot, dirt, sand, dust, and other unpleasent things. In a whirlwind of colors and vibrance worthy only of a person tripped up on acid, Atemu was re-dressed, cleaned, and ready to be married off. 

He scowled as a servent with an unsteady hand kept poking him in the eye with a thin brush she was using to try and apply a dark ink under his crimson orb. His highness made her nervous with the sour look on his face. When she was finished, she bowed and quickly made her exit.

Another servent came in with a wine red cape. She fastened it with gold and fitted it on his shoulders; at this point the prince was now weighed down with so much gold, he prayed to Ra that he wouldn't fall into the Nile and drown.

* * *

As was expected, the young prince was bored completely to death by his suitor. Her name was Princess Anzu from the small island of Cyprus, and just as he was, she was weighed down in just as much gold as he was. She, however didn't seem to be affected by the unbearable weight. (That led him to believe she wore a lot of gold all the time...). The princess didn't seem interested in speaking to him, and whenever he tried to engage her in a conversation she would respond with one worded answers. 

Anzu of Cyprus had an odd shimmering cloth hung about her shoulders, gold incrusted in almost every square inch of it. Creamy robes hung from one shoulder, tied around her waist with a long sash that matched the one at her shoulders. Sapphires were woven through her hair and adorned on her neck and fingers. Her blue eyes were heavily painted with the same royal black paint that Atemu's fiery ones were, although she seemed to personally add a gold lining around the eyelid. The train of her skirt was made purely of peacock feathers, all sorts of colors, most likely from many different countries. The prince admired the finery of the work, but noted that it was perfect for the princess to done; the overstuffed whore of a peacock.

So Atemu took to ignoring her as well, opting instead to gaze out at the moon and stars. The night was the most beautiful he had seen in a while. He was aching to rip the gilded chains from his body and ride out in the sands of Egypt with his duel monster, Gazelle the Mythical Beast.

Maybe she had seen the expression of pure longing on the prince's face, for Anzu had become very irate. "Your highness, I'd hate to intrude on your thoughts." She began sweetly, "But am I boring you?"

Atemu was so surpised she had looked at him long enough to notice, he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. "Actually, yes. You are."

There was a dangerous silence.

Anzu stared at him in utter shock, no one had ever dared to be that rude to her before. They had all just simply gazed at her beauty and were content with that. This arrogant prince found her _boring? _So boring that he'd rather stare _outside _at the stupid moon then at _her? _The idea was absolutly ludicacrous to her.

"E-excuse me your highness." She stammered, "Wh-what did you just say?"

"Uh..." Atemu realized his mistake seconds after he made it. Apparently Princess Anzu was even more vain then he thought, she wasn't used to anything less then her usual treatement of adoration. Glancing at her pretty face, he could already see the fury blazing behind cold blue eyes. He knew her type of monarchy, She would go to war with anyone who irritated her in the slightest. Normally, Atemu wouldn't be concerned; Cyprus was a tiny nation with a small armed force. However if Libya sensed a weakness in Egypts alliances in the Mediterranean, they were sure to take advantage of the nation; make it into a base and that much closer to Cairo, the kingdom, and his people.

"You misunderstand me Princess!" He amended quickly, thinking fast. "I simply bored of sitting here, I only wish I could show you more of the kingdom, it's very beautiful." He gestured vaguely out the window he had been looking out earlier.

* * *

When his son exited the room, Pharaoh Akunamukanon had a hopeful smile on his face, but on seeing his son's dejected face, it automatically evaporated. 

"What happened Atemu?" He asked resting a hand on his son's head, the ebony and red strands poking through his fingers. His son looked up at him, "That was my last suitor," He said softly, "And she threw the palace at me." he replied as he movied out of his father's reach and down the corridor by himself. The pharaoh sighed, what was he going to do with that boy?

But first there was the matter of the

* * *

Atemu was out by the stables, brushing the silken hind of Gazelle. He buried his face into it's long mane, "I bet I look a real sight." He muttered. Pulling off the gold that had weighed him down before, he threw it in a saddle bag to bring up to the palace later. He removed his shirt that had golden decorations woven in the fabric, using it to wipe the ceremonial makeup off his face. He tossed it to the side and turned to lead Gazelle to the water trough. 

Like the princess, he caught sight of his reflection, yet unlike her, he wasn't pleased with what he saw.

Narrowed crimson eyes stared back at him in the black water. The orbs turned to rest on his tanned back. There, starting from his shoulders and ending at his waist, there were the hieroglyphics that depicted him as the next heir to the throne.

"I know what that says." The prince murmered, running a hand over his bare shoulder. He suddenly was aching for the shirt he had just discarded. "But does that really tell me who I am?" he murmmered, gazing at the messaged forever etched on his skin. "Who and what does that make me?"

He thought back to the princess' words, Was he really worth nothing? He couldn't even court a female correctly, now that he thought about it, it probably didn't take much to please the princess. All he needed to do was compliement her every five seconds.

He turned his crimson gaze towards the moon, praying to the gods that he would find out who he was soon enough.

* * *

The young prince was making his way back to his bed chamber when he heard the voices around the corner. He could just walk out and go to his room, but then he was sure he wouldn't have the chance to eavesdrop. He crouched down in his shadowed corner and peered around the corner. 

Her frowned when he stared at the odd crowd, His father, His cousin Seto, and The General were huddled together and speaking swiftly.

"Your majesty," A quick bow made by Solomon, "I hate to interupt you at such an hour, but this is urgant news."

"What is is General?"

"The Libians have invaded Egypt sire."

Seto jumped in, "But how could the cross through the Red lands?"

"They didn't" The general replied, "They came from Sundan, and through our black lands that touch their border."

"From the nile?" The pharaoh gasped.

"Yes, my sources tell me Dartz has already reached Aswan.We must prevent them from reaching Cairo at all costs," The general muttered, "He will attack you sire."

Atemu could tell his father was shaking his head in disapproval. "If that is so, he must be stopped at the Valley of the Kings, I don't want him to destroy anymore cites, cut him off before he gets to Luxor."

"But your majesty, what if he attacks you at Cairo, who will protect you and the prince?" Seto's voice tryed to reason with him."There will be unstability in the land if there is no ruler in Egypt."

"There will be no land if Dartz destroys my people." Akunamukanon replied cooly, "They are the top priority. Call up new recruits, we shall stop him before there is more destruction."

"Yes sire."

With that Atemu sensed the conversation was drawing to a close, and as silently as he could, he crept away.

* * *

Seto was like a heat seaking missile. He of all people was aware of his cousin eavesdropping on the conversation they were having, and now he was off to find Atemu before the younger teenager did something stupid. Like run off to war. The high priest turned into the palace garden where the prince was sitting on one of the limestone benches, deep in though. He had a deck of cards with him that he was absently shuffling. Seto noticed it was the deck he gave him for his last birthday; Atemu was particularly attached to this deck since it was fashioned after the shadow monsters that they used for higher duels. 

Quite deftly Atemu shuffled the cards, pausing only for a moment before his hand flicked out, sending the top card spiraling into a headress resting at the far palace wall.

"Nice shot." Seto remarked cooly, moving to the princes' side. "You aim is as impeccable as always."

The trie-haired boy smirked in response. He knew how much his aim irritated his cousin. "It's all in the wrist Seto."

"Maybe for you," He retorted, "You've never missed a shot in all your life." And it was true, the young prince had never missed. In fact, he was believed to have the best aim in all of Egypt. Atemu snorted, "Oh cry me a Nile mister High Priest Seto."

He stood up and turned his dark gaze towards the elder teen, "I'm assuming there's a reason you came looking for me with an expression of murder on your face." He prompted, easily seeing through his cousin's attempt at small talk.

Grateful, Seto jumped right in, "Yes. I suppose you've had all the evasion you can take for one day."

Atemu rewarded him with a sour smile. "How kind of you to notice."

The high priest ignored him, taking to rubbing the blade of his milennium rod, "I suppose you managed to catch a good portion of our conversation before you went ahead to your room."

The soon-to-be pharaoh flinched, So Seto _had _caught him. He hadn't counted on that, even though he should have seen it coming a mile away. "You would be supposing correctly then." He responded, defience sounding through his sentence.

His cousin's eyes narrowed, "And would I also be 'supposing' correctly if I mentioned I believed you were foolish enough to run off to the closest training camp and take part of the battle?"

Atemu shifted his weight onto one of his sandaled feet, "Yes."

Azure eyes narrowed even further to slits, anger emanating from every pore of his body. "So you are foolish enough to get yourself killed, the one and only heir to the throne of Egypt?"

"I don't intend to get myself killed" The prince retorted, crimson eyes mirroring blue. "I fight to protect my country and my family."

"That is what the commoners are for" The high priest protested, "Your only duty is to protect yourself and your father! Have you forgotten where your place is?!"

Atemu glared deeply at his rival, "No I haven't, have _you_?" he growled. "Do you gladly give up the people of Egypt to save your own hind, coward?" He accused.

Seto remained silent, glaring at his masochistic relative.

"I believe I can make a difference." He continued, gathering his cards and beginning to move inside. "I believe you can as well."

This snapped the High Priest out of whatever stupor the prince had put him in. "Ridiculous! What good could two people do? I don't believe much!"

A crimson eye turned to him, almost lazily. "Man can believe the impossible, but man can never believe the improbable." He replied, "Now if you excuse me. I will be returning to my bed chambers to prepare. I implore you not to mention anything to my father about this." **2**

And so the future Pharaoh left his High priest alone in the garden; Torn between his two duties. The first one to his leader, the second one to his heart. No matter how frozen it had become, there still remained his undying loyality to his friends, brother, and family. He made to leave, confused beyond belief, when something gave way under his foot. Glancing down, the teenager saw a card his friend had forgotten_: The Magician of Faith_.

The woman dressed in scarlet robes seemed to mock him, Faith? Did he even know what that was anymore?

He knew the sun would rise soon, Nut, the goddess of night would soon give birth to Ran, the sun god, but he knew by then the prince would be gone.

* * *

**So what will Seto do? Join the prince or tattle-tail on him? Well, it doesn't really matter... I think I did a pretty darn good job! Not too shabby I think... brushes off shoulders. Anyway, REVIEW! Make me happy! Make me feel loved! I'll write faster!!! Well, i'll be _happy._ Don't mock me fools! I'll eat you.**

Anyway, All the information about Egypt was researched by me. (Gods, Landscapes, Cities, and Traditions, bite me. I did my homework!) I APOLOGIZE for anyone who is from Sudan or Libya! Seriously I do, but those were the only two countries that made sense to me for my use. ALSO, I apologize to anyone who's from Cypris too.

I don't mean to be mean to Anzu, I really don't. But I needed someone female, and I hate writing OCs, so since Anzu was the only chick who Yu-Gi-Oh has as a major role, I decided to throw her in somewhere. (Sorry Anzu fans!) 


	2. What is Faith?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or the vague plot line of Mulan.**

**READ AND REVIEW**

* * *

Seto was about to do something he had never dreamed of doing before. Who was he? A simple priest to deny everything he had been taught since birth just because the prince had called him a coward. 

A coward Seto was not, so he couldn't simply just let this insult go. His pride wouldn't allow him to give in and admit it, because Seto was _not a coward!_

But even now as he stood alone in the exotic garden surrounded in the limestone prison that glowed softly in the moonlight; He gave an involuntary shudder when he thought of the bloodshed that must be happening just beyond those walls. The blood shed the prince was more then willing to ride head first into.

If the Libians didn't kill Atemu first, Seto swore he would.

* * *

The night was cool upon his face, as he left the palace garden. Just seconds ago, Atemu had declared to him that he was going off to war. The headstrong fool, was probably off in his room preparing as Seto simply stood here cursing the day Atemu was ever brought into the world to irritate him. 

For the love of Ra, he was _not _the prince's babysitter!

So why was he forced to act like one?

* * *

He knelt before the Egyptian God in their limestone shrine just outside the temples in Cairo. He laid his millennium rod down by his side and gazed up at the inscribed forms of Ra, Horus, Osiris, Obelisk, Seth, Isis, and the many other gods and goddesses. Over two-thousand decorated the walls of the temple, each dating back from different time, each relating to unique tribes. The only one not visible was Nut, the goddess of the night and mother to Ra. 

No one knew what she looked like, but many believed she was the earth and moon themselves. Seto vaguely noted that Nut was sometimes believed to be the god Thoth, the god of the _moon _and of _wisdom_. Wisdom was what he really need just about now.

"Oh great Egyptian gods, please hear my prayer! I seek your guidence!" He bowed his head in respect, "I am lost, and in dire need of assistence."

His eyes lowered in shame, "I have allowed my charge to run off into danger and possibly cause and upstart in the monarch..."

"I have failed as a priest and a cousin."

The Magician of Faith rested before his kneeling form. Distraught and confused he slammed his fist into the ground. Who was he, a simple priest to turn his back on everything he had been raised on? Tradition, Honor, and Duty? The prince wasn't giving him an option no matter which way he looked. Azure eyes clouded over in irritation, how could he choose between his duty, which was right, and his honor, which seemed to be wrong.

His only wish was to protect his liege from harm; something Atemu wasn't willing to do for himself. All he wanted was to keep him safe within the confines of the palace walls. His chesnut brows pulled together in thought, Maybe, just _maybe_ if he caught the prince before he saddled up on Gazelle, he could lock him in his room until the danger passed, or it was too late to join the army.

He discarded the thought almost instantly; The young sire would not take kindly to plans of entraping him like a caged bird. No, there had to be another way. Another way short of catching the Tri-haired youth and beating him within an inch of his godforsaken life.

He kneeded his knuckles against his forehead. There had to be a simple solution to all of this madness. An answer that probably would be so easy and simple it was blaringly obvious. One that would allow him to maintain his honor whilst upholding his duties.

So as was the way of Seto, he took the problem apart to the root of it's problems; Looking at each section separately and inspecting it's foundation like clockwork, he began to figure out a theorem to solve his issue. If he could figure out what his Duty and Honor was, he could weigh the value of the two things in his heart, thereby giving him his answer.

"My duty is to protect Atemu" Seto muttered to the card infront of him, dully aware that the card wasn't going to respond to him. He reminded himself that every passing second meant the prince could be leaving the sanctuary of his room at any time. "And my honor is..."

Seto paused; Thinking.

"My honor is-..." He trailed off. Blue eyes narrowed in concentration. "My...pride..?"

No. He shook his head. That wasn't right. Sure he was proud, a blind man could see that obvious trait in him. "No" He muttered. It was something more, he just knew it.

The magician of Faith, just inches from his hand caught Seto's eyed. Picking it up between long, tanned fingers he examined it. "Bah." He muttered, when he noticed it's low attack and defense points. "I have no used for weaklings." The small card fluttered through his loose digist and to his robed feet, looking sadly up at him.

"Faith huh?" The high priest scoffed, "What good is that? It's obviously weak." He stood up fluidly; The only faith he ever was known to have was that to his king, family, and country. Otherwise, the rest was completely useless.

The teenager froze.

He reflected on his last thoughts. Maybe that _was_ what honor was to Seto, no matter how much he just ridiculed it: His faith and loyalty to the kingdom. That was, and always had been the greatest honor to him. His Duty was always his Honor.

He felt like punching himself in the face: Not only was he starting to sound like some cheap, street fortune-teller. He was also starting to sound like a work-a-holic, (He mentally cringed from the truth).

Feeling a bit light-headed from his sudden epiphany, he bent down to pick up the magician of faith for the last time. He stared suspiciously at the purple-cloaked figure in the picture as though she had been at fault for the truth striking him as swiftly as an angry blue-eyed white dragon. Bowing his way out of the room, the chesnut haired youth knew at long last what had to be done; almost as an afterthought, he pocketed the card in his hand.

Right or wrong, it was the only available path for him to take. He wasn't complaining; He needed to return Atemu's weak card anyway.

* * *

Leaving behind anything that would expose him for who he was, Atemu proceeded to wrap his chest and back, careful not show any of the tattoo that practically screamed 'I'm the prince!'. He would be wearing a regular sleeveless shirt, odd to wear in the scorching Egyptian heat, but how else could he cover up the bandages. He insisted on taking extra precautions, even realizing that only the rich wore shirts, he'd just make up some wealthy family if he had to. But under no circumstance could he allow himself to be revealed. 

He knew the laws almost better then the priests themselves who passed judgement on wrong doers. So thusly, he knew the punishment for impersonating a solider and bearing arms under the countries name. The price for disrespecting such a law was very high if caught, for it dishonored and shamed all of Egypt.

It entailed a full night of torturious lashings to the criminals back, said to be more excruciating then death, along with the dishonor to your family name. As if things couldn't get worse, they indeed could: If they were to unveil Atemu as who he was, right as the goddess Nut is re-birthing the god Ra, he would be executed before he ever got a chance to feel his warm, sun-soaked rays upon his bronzed skin.

A shiver ran up his spine as his thoughts dwelled on the risk he was taking. Son of the Pharaoh or not, he was not exempt from the law; Therefore responsable for his actions.

His crimson eyes took in all that he was leaving behind, just to follow an impulsive notion to defend his country. He felt not an ounce of longing to stay in the gilded cage he had lived in for eighteen years. The dangers were high that he would be killed at the hands of the Libians, but even higher that he would be killed at the hands of his own people. He felt saddened at the thought that the very people he was trying to protect would harm in return, but he knew these were measures that had to be taken during times of war.

Underlying his determination to protect, he really didn't know why he felt so strongly about going off and fighting, but he felt compelled against his judgement. It was as thought the hand of fate itself was guiding and pushing him forward, towards the war.

Atemu assumed this was meant to be some sort of game to prove his desire to protect his people. One to test his love for his country and insight as a ruler. Perhaps to see if he was really worthy to lead this beautiful country someday. he already knew he would gladly lay his life down for Egypt; However, that didn't explain the odd jerk to his heartstrings he felt whenever he thought of leaving.

It was almost like he really, _really _wanted to go.

Another shiver ran up his spine, this time not from fear of punishment, but from an alarming feeling in the pit of his stomach. Atemu glanced up at his bedroom mirror, surprised to see his a rosy-blush beginning to creep across his tanned cheeks and his crimson eyes burning with a desire he couldn't place.

He quickly turned away, not accustomed to seeing his eyes so alive and his skin so flushed. What was wrong with him? Trying his hardest to keep his breathing under control, Atemu didn't even notice when Seto slipped discreetly into his chambers.

"Getting ready for departure?" He asked cooly, once again upsetting Atemu's frantic heart. He clutched at his chest, "Give me a Heart attack why don't you!?" Was his answering growl.

Seto shrugged before crossing the room to rest on the princes' bed. "I'm coming with you." He said casually, almost as though he wasn't discussing riding off to their ultimate demise, and instead a vaguely interesting topic over tea time.

The prince almost made a double-take.

"Go where?" He asked mystified.

"To war."

"With me?"

"With you." Seto confirmed with a nodd.

Still awed, Atemu reached up and pressed the back of his hand to Seto's forehead, "Who are you and what have you done to my cousin?" He demanded. His answer was a heated glare which promised the prince one less extremity if it wasn't retracted from his face within the next six seconds.

"I have three things for you." The priest rummaged through the leather bag he had slung over his side. "The first and most important are these." He held up two scrolls of papyrus.

"What are they?" Atemu questioned.

"Notices that will allow us entrance into the army." Seto remarked cooly, "I swiped them from Maahado's chamber when he wasn't looking." He ignored the stunned look on the princes face and continued, pulling out a long package wrapped carefully in black silk. He swiftly removed it's covering, revealing the most exquisite blade he had ever seeing in his life. His tanned hands moved over the black-blade gingerly, before taking it by its tip and handing it to the prince, hilt first.

Eyes clouded over in confusion, Atemu took the blade, surprised to find that the handle seemed to melt into his grip. "Is this for me..?" The prince questioned, taking a tenative practice swing with the sword. He was pleased upon finding the sharp edge was perfectly balanced.

"I hate to state the obvious, but who else would it be for?" Seto replied, tossing the sheath into Atemu's open hand. "The last thing isn't really very important, You just dropped it in the garden." He snorted withdrawing a card from the sleeve of his priesthood robes.

The prince recognized the card at once as the Magician of Faith, wordlessly he took the card from the priest, crimson eyes narrowing. "Thank you for returning it to me..."

Seto cut him off, "Whatever. It's of no use to me..." He thought for a moment before adding, "Your _Highness_."

Atemu nodded briefly, noting that Seto was growing into a foul mood as each second passed by, so shoving aside all regard for manners, the prince roughly stuffed the card back down the priest's shirt before muttering a quick, 'Hang on to that for me.'

Taking advantage of his cousin's shock, the young prince fled from the room, carrying only his sword, his notice, and the clothes on his back.

It was time for war.

* * *

As the sun rose over the hot lands of Egypt, The pharaoh rose from his bed a sense of foreboding working deep into his nerves. He had not seen his son since he took off after being rejected by Princess Anzu. He scolded himself for being so neglectful to the teenager, but he really had no other choice. 

After Solomon had finally caught up with the ruler, and rather tactlessly broke the news to the pharaoh that Lybia was waging war on his country (Tactless: "Sire! Lybia had invaded the Black Lands! And by the way, they burned down one of our cities because we were caught unaware." The General had never been known for beating around the bush); plans for battle had to begin.

So the Ruler of Two Lands decided to make it up to his son by spending the day with him; Perhaps comfort him for a while, then casually suggest playing one of the games his son loved so much for a while. The Pharaoh chuckled as he walked towards the archway to his sons bedchamber, Atemu always had to be dragged out of bed. He loved sleeping in so much.

Feeling slightly content, he stepped through the doorway, "Atem-" He paused.

And what he saw made his blood run cold.

The room that had housed his son, and only heir was exactly as it was. The wardrobe in the far right corner, The mirror in the Far left. Even the bed was in the middle, made very neatly so not even a crease ruffled the downy quilt.

But it was what wasn't in the bed that made his heart stop beating. Atemu wasn't there. In his place, were the two golden armbands his son wore to mark his royality, his crown, and a shadow monster card, lying seemingly innocently on the flawless cushion.

The Living Horace didn't even notice his weak legs take him to his son's bed where he collapsed like a dead weight. All his crimson eyes could look at was the Card:

The Magician of Faith.

"Please gods..." He prayed, bowing his head and resting his gilded hand on his puzzle. "Protect my son..."

* * *

As soon as the rays of Ra had touched the sunbaked earth, the temple Seto had visited, no more then a few hours ago began to glow with life. The inscriptions of the gods had started to move; the process was very slow. No more then a twitch of a finger or a bat of an eye. But soon the pictures began to move, and part from the stone that had once held them trapped. One by one, the images of the gods shimmered before each other in silence. But of course, not for long. 

Up in limbo the very gods king Aknankanun was praying to; were having quite a serious debate. _Who the hell gave the prince the insane/reckless/suicidal idea to run off to war?! _

"It had to be Seth, The god of Chaos!" Horace shrieked. The bird-man, was very close the pharaoh, and felt as though his own son had been ripped from him. "You green-skinned jackel! I'll rip you to shreds!"

Not a jackel, but green-skinned, Seth stood calmly, almost amused by Horace' outburst. "I did nothing!" He said, "Had it not been for my powers, Egypt would be fire and ash by now!"

The falcon's good eye narrowed, "Oh we all know a touch of amusement always brightened up your day." He hissed through a curved beak. "But I believe it'll be much more amusing to watch your death, again... and again... and again all throughout eternity. Heaven knows I have nothing better to do!"

Seth growled in annoyance, "Of course not, that's why you spend all your time licking up _'The King of Two Lands' _slop!"

As these two gods bickered; Ra, Joined by his mother and Father, Nut and Thorth were growing impatient. With silent red eyes, they watched as Horace and Seth rolled on the starry floor, yanking at each other's hair._ 'I'll send you to meet Uncle Anubis again, I heard he's getting sick of you dieing all the time!' 'Kill me? I'll poke out your other eye bird-brain!' _And so it went on and on, until Ra's patience spontaneously combusted.

_"SILENCE!"_

All the shouts and scuffling automatically died away, leaving only a murmered insult from the pair. His red eyes narrowed in irritation. "Are you finished?"

They both nodded.

"Excellent."

He rose from his smokey throne above the stars and made his descent down towards the two gods, (Seth still locked in a choke-hold by Horace, and Horace still having a long piece of tarp tied around his beak). "My mother, Nut gave the idea to the future king." He boomed calmly, "We have prepared for this moment for years, even allowing the Lybians entrance into our lands."

This caused Seth and Horus to still even more.

"SO YOU WERE THE ONE WHO DRUGGED ME USING BACCUS' WINE!?" Seth and Horus roared. Instantly they silenced themselves, both realizing they had admitted to slacking off on their jobs.

Ra smiled, "Yes, we had to give Dartz some leverage so he'd take Egypt by storm."

"Why would you do that?" Horace hissed, momentarily forgetting that he was speaking with the god of the sun. "You'd endanger the people you have sworn to protect to what purpose?!

Horaces' beak opened to say something very ugly to the Ruler of the gods when Nut stood up in a swish of dark robes.

"Calm yourself," She said, "The prince has been very moody as of late, and do you know why..?"

There was a very long pause of silence. Nut was disappointed, "I am surrounded by fools..." She shrugged her shoulders back and straightened her back. "The red string that Fate tied to his heart is beginning to tug. The string tying him to his future love is tightening, drawing him closer to the one he's connected to."

Thorth cut in, "Fate and Destiny will always have their way," He sighed, "And if it means the fall of Egypt, she will find some way to bring them together, Destiny is no better, she foresaw these two herself."

"Fate and Destiny touched both of them as soon as they were born, entangling them together with strings, it's a wonder they managed to live so far apart from one another for so long." Ra growled, "There was nothing we could do to prevent these two from coming together, this was the only solution we could some up that would appease Destiny and Fate. Egypt had to take the backseat."

Horace and Seth clunked their heads together. "Those two are such brats..." The latter muttered.

* * *

Looking back Atemu would notice where he made his first mistake, but as he walked into the army camp (A disgruntled Seto in tow) he didn't have a care in the world. 

"Look" He said, "Those men are playing with Shadow Monsters." Atemu pointed excitedly towards a large group of men. They formed a large circle around the two combantents, placing bets and cheering on their favorite. In this case, the favorite seemed to be a white-haired Albino with the name of 'Bakura'. Even though he was losing, he seemed very popular.  
"Kill him!" A man screamed  
"Finish 'em off!"

More men added their voices to the rising din, goading the white-haired man on.

The one called Bakura was a tall man, with broad shoulders draped in an open crimson robe. His ruby eyes gleamed with a confidence one only could gain from years of battle. A long double crossed scar ran through his left eye, making Atemu think of sinister ways how he had gotten it. Even though he wasn't the young prince's type, that didn't stop him from running his crimson eyes over the sculpted mans' chest.

_Not Bad._ He allowed himself to think before ripping his eyes towards the match.

The white-haired man had a seven-colored fish out on the field after his necromancer solider suffered death at the hands of his opponents' fierce Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Bakura's life dropped to 100 points, but the albino didn't so much as bat an eye.

Atemu could recognize that look in Bakura's dark red glare from a mile away, This was exactly the move he had wanted his opponent to make, (A wildly cheering man screaming 'Yeeeeah!!!' at the top of his lungs). Bakura had a plan.

"Will you quite yelling and finish you turn" Bakura snapped, "I would like to crush you before the Sun sets."

"Keep yer skirt on ya lunatic." The blond haired man countered, "Fine, I end. You happy?"

"Very much so." He didn't even flinch as his opponent began cheering wildly in some sort of tribal dance.

Atemu was now frowning, he sensed Seto shift slightly to his left besides him, "What is it?" He questioned.

The high Priest muttered a quick 'nothing', before returning his blue eyes to the match. The prince shrugged it off, assuming that Seto was just irritated by the tactfull approach of Bakura's opponent (or lack-there-of). His next words confirmed his assumtions.

"That mutt shouldn't think he has the duel in the back before the last card has been played." He muttered. "Although from here it looks like he has as good as won." Atemu nodded, "Yes, but Bakura is planning something." Seto didn't reply, but the prince could tell he silently was agreeing with him

Bakura's opponent, the one Seto had refered to as a 'mutt' had shaggy blond hair and soft puppy brown eyes, A tan robe hung on his shoulders and fell open on his chest, the same as it did with Bakura. He also seemed to have the loudest mouth on the campsite.

"Hey! What're you smirkin' about pretty boy?" He growled at the object in front of him (Bakura). He was obviously miffed by Bakura's ability to take defeat in stride and was showing his irritation as though it had been sewed on his sleeve. "Hey i'm talkin' to you!"

The object of his anger chuckled and mocked an expression of surprise. "Oh, i'm sorry! I didn't realize you were speaking to me!"

"Who else would I be talking to!?" The blond haired man retorted.

His opponent frowned in some concern, "Are you suffering from heat-stroke man, because I think you're getting a bit wacky up there in the head..." He smirked, "Because i'm about to win this round, your move."

"Indeed it is." The white haired man fought back a laugh. His opponent frowned. "Oh Jounichi! I'm sorry!" He apologized, "I just think it's hilarous that you think you can win!" An insane chuckle escaped him.

Jounichi bristled at his words, "Well I hate to point out the 100 life points you've got left, plus the monster you've got that can't hold a candle to my Red Eyes, not to mention my 2000 life points I have left!"

"Thank you Captain Obvious," Bakura cut in shortly, "But life points don't mean everything as you will soon find out when I begin my turn."

Jou's eyes narrowed, "And how exactly are you going to go about showing me?" He challenged.

Bakura smirked, "Why thank you for asking!" He beamed, drawing his card. "Perfect!" He cackled, throwing his card down on the daha board. "Now Jou, prepare yourself for defeat, I play MegaMorph!"

Jounichi's tan skin visably paled. "Oh crap."

"'Oh Crap' Is right" Bakura seemed to enjoy watching Jou squirm with extreme pleasure, because he added his own explaination of the card which spurred the crowd into some sort of blood-thirsty frenzy. "MegaMorph, when equipped to a monster will either double the monsters attack points of cut them in half depending on your opponents life points. If they are higher then yourse, then your monsters attack is doubled. However, if your life points are higher, then the attack is halved." Bakura sneered. "Get it?"

"Yeah, I got it." That explained why he had allowed his Necromancer Solider to get killed, it had seemed like such an easy way to get to his life points by knocking off the weaker monster. It was all too painfully obvious now, Bakura had set a trap for him. Now with his life points down to 100, it would make the MegaMorph card almost impossible to use against him.

"I think i'll equip MegaMorph to my Seven-Colored fish, raising its attack to 3600 points." Bakura smiled, "Wow, that's quite a lot wouldn't you say?"

"Get on with it" Jounichi growled, dread already knotting his stomach.

"Next, i'll play the magic card Exchange, which will each of us to take a card from the other players' hand." Bakura held up his extremities, "But would you look at that? I have no cards in my hand! That means, _you're _the only one who loses a card from your hand."

Resigned, Jounichi showed the albino his hand, almost cringing when his Alligator Swordsman was ripped from him. "A lizard," The man scoffed,"Oh well, it has it's uses."

He summoned the monster in attack mode. "Care to give up? You realize this is the end don't you?"

Jounichi knew it alright, but deep inside he knew that even on his darkest day he wouldn't give up. He was too damn stubborn, so instead, he shook his head and watched as a Fish killed his precious Red-Eyes black dragon, and his own card cut away the rest of his life-points.

"Aw man" Jou moaned, "No one can beat you! Have you ever lost?!"

Bakura laughed, "Not even once." Then surprisingly, he helped Jou to his feet. "But you just suck, so that might be the cause."

Atemu smiled, so they were friends. He was shocked that there was so much trash talking going around while they fought, but it all became clear. Bakura seemed to be a bit rough around the edges, but he had a kind streak to him. (Even though he was insulting Jou's dueling strategy, he was giving him a few tips. Ex: "Instead of attacking like a complete dumbass, you could have played Mystical Space Typhoon to cancel out my MegaMorph. It's quick play so it would have worked.")

Smaller duels were beginning to sprout from the crowd, as the two men reviewed their strategy, apparently too absorbed in the cards to much less care what was going on around them. Jounichi was just talking to the albino about field cards when Bakura's head shot up.

"Hey, what-" Jou began before a tanned hand was slapped over his mouth. Bakura's red eyes slide shut, his eyebrows crunched together in concentration.

There was a long silence before his eyes opened again and he answered Jou, "It's Ryou." Almost as soon as the name escaped his lips, he darted off through the crowd.

Understanding seemed to spread through Jou's features, and he took off after the white-haired man. "Hey! Bakura! Damn! Wait up!"

Atemu and Seto glanced at each other, "What the heck was that about?" The priest questioned.

But Atemu raised his hand to silence the other, (A habit he had yet to kill) "Listen..." He whispered. Confused, the priest did as he was told, straining to catch even the slightest noise.

And that's when he heard the screaming.

* * *

So yeah, In the first chapter, I had spelled Horace incorrectly, it was until my brother pointed out my stupidity, when I noticed that not site on the internet are reliable. (They spelled Horace, 'Horus'. So sue me.) 

I just went to a museum and found a bunch of information about Egypt that I plan to use! I'll write a one shot for anyone who can tell me what this plant does, where it's found, and what it was believed to have done in Egyptian times. The plant is called: **Mormon Tea**.

So, that was chapter 2. I hope you guys liked it. I need a Beta!


	3. First Sight

**Yeah, I am lost without my Mulan Dvd, so allow me to struggle through this chapter. I still dislike OCs, so i'm seriously beginning to pull for punching bags.**

**REVIEW RESPONSES!  
Atemu Yugi Lover34** answered my question about Mormon Tea, and taught me something new about the plant. For that, I'll bend down on one of my broken knees and sing your praises! Did the gods plan this? No, Fate and Destiny did: They forced the gods to do what they wanted. (They have 'em wrapped around their little pinky)

**Tavia454 **Thanks for allowing me not to feel like a complete idiot with my spelling of Horus, Horace, whatever the heck his name is.

**Mei1105 **I'm glad the gods amused me. They'll be back. Mulan is awesome, I remember I got my first copy of it pirated on the streets of New York. Ah, good times.

**Animehunter08 **I thank you! I shall update with speed! I'm trying to update the story once a week at the least.

**unseenwaters **Well, The Egyptian gods do care for their future ruler, expecially since Fate and Destiny decided to pull the strings with Atemu, but i'll get into all that later.

* * *

It was as if their feet had a mind of their own, leading Atemu and Seto wherever they pleased. They ran towards a clearing with a large wooden table and tent a few feet from it where they saw Jou restraining an angry Bakura. 

"C'mon man! Chill out!" The blond tried vainly to reason with him; his plea fell on deaf ears. The cause of his anger seemed to be eminating from a large man.

The brute had dark brown hair with large bangs that hung over his tiny orbs. His wicked eyes were squinted in a mean sort of amusement; his jovial attitude seemed to be come from a large bundle of white, crumpled on the desert floor. Lazily kicking it aside, Further enraging Bakura, he turned towards the two new comers.

"So" The man chuckled, "You little jackels brought some company."

The two men turned, slightly surprised at the sudden appearance of Atemu and Seto.

"Get lost!" Bakura snarled, "This isn't any of your business!"

Atemu merely shrugged. "We're making it our business" Seto retorted, not removing his eyes from the white bundle. His azure eyes narrowed slightly... It was either a trick from the heat, but he could have sworn he saw it _move_. Atemu nodded beside him, "We heard screaming." Crimson eyes drifted to the large man,"Would it be too much to assume he was the cause of it...?"

They recieved no answer from Jou or the albino. So the prince and high priest took it as an affirmative. When they took a step towards the man to get a better view, he frowned and delievered a sharp kick to the side of the abused bundle. The two froze when a soft cry met their ears. Seto and Atemu looked at each other, both asking the silent question.

Ryou, the bundle, rolled over, turning towards the sounds of Bakura's voice. His looked almost like a carbon copy of the albino. Atemu noted, Excluding, his hair being a bit longer, his eyes being green, and creamy pale skin that was bruised to a dark shade of purple in some places (probably from the man's beatings...), he looked exactly like him except with softer features.

Ryou raised his head up from its posistion before locking his doe eyes with his counter parts'. "'Kura..."He smiled softly.

The large man shoved his foot onto the small of Ryou's back, pressing him back into the ground with a wince.

"Did I say you could get up?" The man sneered, digging his heel into the smaller albino's spine. Ryou yelped in pain and tried to squirm out of his capture's grasp, but there was no use: He had him pinned down.

Bakura saw red, fighting against Jou's restraining hand he yelled, "Ushio! I'm going to kill you!"

The blond himself was very close to letting Bakura go and jumping into the fray himself, but quickly decided against it. Ushio would make quick work with both of them. He had the scars to prove the man's brutality. He growled, imagining himself pummeling the man's nose into his face and smirked_. I could put him in a sarcophagus full of scarabs, rip out his tongue, mummify him while he's still alive_... He was so caught up with his thoughts, he didn't notice when their two stowaways stepped forward until Bakura drew in an angry hiss.

"What are you doing?" He demanded of the two, of course recieving no reply. Instead the tri-haired man broke away from him companion and glared at Ushio. He spoke in a surprisingly deep baritone for someone his size. "What gave you the right to beat this man?" He had asked calmly, but Jounichi and Bakura both detected the under currents of anger simmering in his huskey tone.

Jou flinched, He didn't know why, or what for, but all he knew, was Ushio was in for a world of hurt. This man had an air of a King.

Ushio apparently wasn't quite as sensitive to the danger in the prince's voice, but Atemu swore to Ma'at, the goddess of justice that the man would pay for his crimes.

"Look at him! Pale skin, White-hair (Bakura shifted angrily again), Green eyes! The guy's a freak!" Ushio laughed, enjoying his taunting. "I was just teaching him a lesson: Difference is a bad thing."

Seto took a menacing step towards the man, unsheathing the dagger he had hidden in his belt. "You ignorant fool." He growled, "I'll carve the difference between the two of you into your skin." Then pausing for a moment, he kindly reconsidered. "Or, I could always cut you until you look like him." He jerked his head towards Ryou, smirking.

Jou and Bakura stood shock-silent. It was very hard now-a-days to find someone who still had a spine, These two certainly did.

Atemu smirked coldly, pulling the dagger from Seto's hand. "I would call you a flea-bitten Jackel." He said lazily, "But I wouldn't want to anger Anubis so greatly, I have no wish to suffer his wrath."

Ushio growled and lunged towards him in a rage, "Too bad I'll be sending you to see him anyway!" He was halfway towards him when he was stopped by the crimson eyed man holding the dagger inches from his face.

"That's not on my scheduale today." Atemu said with a fake air of kindness. "Instead, Lets play a game."

Seto's groan was almost audible.

The gaint paused, his eyes locked on the knife's point. "What kind of game?" He questioned.

The air of kindness evaporated almost instantly, as the soft smile that was previously on Atemu's face widened to a smirk. "A Shadow game."

Instantly, Ushio stopped. He knew about the shadow games, having played a few before himself. There were usually very high stakes, the loser normally going insane after a defeat, or even dieing. But the winner, oh yes... _The winner_ usually walked away with unimaginable riches. The large man's eyes lit up with greed at the thought. "Alright, explain the rule pointy."

The prince took quick aim, flicking the dagger into the middle of the wooden table behind Ushio. Startled, he jumped back, a furious expression on his face. Atemu ignored him, a smirk still playing on his face. "We'll need that in the game."

Another audible moan of frustration from Seto.

Wordlessly, Atemu pulled out a wad of fine silks, many coming from exotic countries. "These are from the palace weaveries." He tossed them carelessly onto the table, his smirk widening even further as Ushio's eyes never left them. "They're worth enough money to support you for the rest of your life plue three more generations quite comfortably." He continued lazily, watching the lust for the cloths grow in the larger man's eyes.

"Fine, lets play."

* * *

Yugi Mouto sat infront of his Grandfather, reviewing the strategy the general was planning. 

"We need to stop the Libian Army before the Annual flooding of the Nile." He growled in frustration.

"When will it flood?" The violet-eyed youth questioned, looking at his father figure.

"In three fortnights"

"Darn."

"That leaves one option." The elder scratched the back of his head, "My troops and I will ride through the Valley of the Kings and cut them off before they can destroy Thebes and Kul Elna." Solomon Mouto gazed up at the boy he had raised to manhood and smiled. Yugi was growing up now; He was ready to to rise to another level, and he himself was growing old. "You Yugi, will stay here to train the new recruits."

His Grandson's amethyst eyes widened in shock, "Grandpa?" He questioned at the smiling elder.

"Remember _Captain_" The General said, "A good leader must always keep in mind to put his troops' safety before his own." He fixed Yugi with a stern look. "Can you handle that responsability?"

Without a moments hesitation, his Grandson agreed, his ameythest eyes fierce with dedication."I won't let you down Gramps!" He quickly amended himself, "General."

Yup, his Grandson was definantly growing up. Now if only he could get himself hitched to a nice mate and settle down. His grandson was already eighteen, by now most people would have settled down. He was worried, because he was afraid Yugi would be left alone in the world without anyone else, He wasn't going to be around forever; even now he could feel Anubis beginning to nip at his heels.

The elderly man stood up quickly, ignoring his complaining knees. "Come to the village of Kul Elna when you have finished the training, we will ride together to Cairo where we will drink to our victory."

Yugi nodded obediantly, watching his Grandpa leave, waiting until his Grandfather's cloak disappeared from sight before a wide smile cracked over his face. A Captain! Him! Of all people! _'Just wait until Jou hears about this!' _He thought excitedly. He left his tent, following his Grandfather, "Won't he be hap-..."

His thoughts took a nose-dive into the ground as he caught sight of Bakura, Ryou, Jou and some other man he had never seen before crowded around a wooden table. His Grandfather chuckled before clapping Yugi on the shoulder. "Looks like your first duties are coming up sooner then expected." He left with a wink and a nodd, mounting his horse and waving goodbye to the last of the Motous. "Good bye Yugi."

"Good bye Grandfather."

Amythest eyes followed the elderly figure ride off on the black horse, before turning his attention back to the group.

On the wooden table there was a pile of silk, neatly folded in the center. Two men sat at it; One Yugi recognized as the brute Ushio. He didn't know the other man, but he had to do a double-take, his breathe hitched in his throat. Yugi's first thought was that one of the gods had descended upon the campsite.

His shoulders were strong, showing off the underlying strength and coiled muscles beneath his creamy tunic. The two men weren't awware of their captain joining them or else they might have stopped their game. Yugi however didn't care, being far too busy inspecting the exotic beauty a few feet from him.

The man had a rich tan, skin that ran flawlessly from his nice to his sculpted face. His lips tinted the faintest shade of red, making Yugi all too aware that he was biting his own bottom lip down. He blanched, realizing he had the insane urge to kiss this man before he glided his gaze upward into the man's orbs.

He was met with crimson red, eyes that were striking against the long dark lashes the fluttered against bronzed cheeks. Yugi could feel a tight pain in his chest; Once again his breathe caught in his throat. He could help it, the man was so... Well, for lack of a better word_: Sexy_.

_'He has such pretty eyes.'_ He thought in a sort of dreamy wonder. They youngy captain sucked in a breathe to clear his thoughts. He found that the hot air helped.

"What's going on here?" He turned to his blond friend in expectation. However, he was standing still, his honey eyes transfixed on the two men in front of him. "Jou?" He questioned. Once again he recieved no answer from the blonde, instead a cold voice behind him drew his attention by replying for the teenager.

"They're playing a Shadow Game." Was the curt answer. And as short as the answer was, he knew immediantly what was going on.

Yugi felt himself visiably pale at those words. Game or not, Shadows usually ended up with someone's death. He felt a nervous twitch pull at his heart. He couldn't explain why, but he felt as though he didn't wand the exotic man to be put in danger.

_Simply because he's his solider, and I don't want him hurt even before we start to train,_ he assured himself. So what was his excuse for Ushio?

A deep baritone voice interupted his thoughts. The tri-colored man was speaking, and Yugi found himself pleasently surprised to feel a shiver run down his spine.

He almost started but held it in, "We will take turns stabbing the silk with the knife, our hands will be under the silk when we do so. Whoever gets the last piece of silk wins. You can keep what you gather."**(1)** The prince explained. He could almost feel Seto's scandalized glare boring holes into him. He grinned with some satisfaction. This was almost worth pissing the high priest off. "We obviously aren't allowed to use any means other then the knife to gather the silk, nor are we allowed to attack the other when possessing the knife. Any violations made will result in the penalty game." He recieted calmly. It was as though he did this all the time.

"Any questions?"

"Yeah, when do we start?"

"So eager to be trapped in shadows?"

"No, I'm eager for your money dumbass."

"Of course."

Atemu smiled, sliding his hand under the silk. "I'll go first Mr. Greedy man." The silence was almost tangible when he pierced through the first couple of layers."There." He withdrew the blade, only a folded silk pieces hung from the curved tip. "It's harder then it looks." The blade was passed to an eager Ushio, who quickly thrust the knife into the rustling fabric.

The soliders (plus a captain) drew in a shaky breathe as Ushio pulled the knife back, a large bundle of silk was attached to the blade.

"Ha! That was easy!" He laughed "I should have stabbed harder!"

Atemu merely smirked, sensing an easy win. He held his hand out for the blade. "My turn." This continued going back and forth several times until finally, the pile of fabric began to dwindle.

"Looks like the game is almost over." Atemu muttered, pulling his silk from the knife and passing it to the bear of a man.

Upon contact with the knife, a strange feeling passed through Ushio. Atemu could see the change pass through his eyes, he mentally prepared himself for what was to come next.

The dagger Ushio had, was poised above the pile, there were only a few thin gossimer layers of silk left. You could see his hands shaking badly though, this should be an easy win for him. His self-control began to waver.

_'He's going to bring the blade down with too much strength'_ Yugi realized._'He'll impale his hand.' _A spasm of fear ran through him.

Sure, he didn't _like _Ushio, (having been a subject to his abuse himself many times before), but he didn't want him to lose a hand over a game. Yet before ha could open his mouth to put a stop to the madness, a tan hand shot out from behind him and clamped over his mouth.

Bakura, who he had all but forgotten up to this point, shook his spikey white-head to silence the tri-haired youth. "Lets see how this plays out." He muttered, never removing his blood-like eyes from the man who felt compelled to risk his life for his own hikari. The dangers of a shadow game were all too real, so why would he risk so much for someone he didn't know.

Bakura subconciously tightened his hold around his white-haired angel. Ryou had been snuggled against the albino's chest, watching the game play out with tired watchful eyes.

"'Kura," He murmured, catching his darker side's attention.

"What is it Ryou?" The albino asked, although he already had some idea what his love wanted, he was reluctant to answer.

Ryou bit his bottom lip nervously, not sure how to ask the question he had been thinking of since the game had begun. "What-, What will..." He trailed off at the look on his koi's face. It was unsure.

"-'Happen to the loser..?'..." Bakura finished for him. He took a deep breath and gazed into the soft green eyes he loved so much. "Many people say death, Others say insanity." His look darkened.

"What do you say..?" Ryou asked meekly.

He sighed, hating not having a straight answer for once. He growled in impatience, directed towards himself, "I believe the loser's soul is bound to the shadows forever and are consumed by a much darker force."

Ryou's green eyes went wide at this, but didn't say anything. The pale boy turned horrorfied eyes towards the game, obviously looking at it in a new light.

The theif sighed, hoping he didn't tramitize the poor boy too badly. But he was going to have to get used to it, because all of them would soon be surrounded by death, This was one of he worse things about going to war. A large reason why he had wanted Ryou to stay at their village of Kul Elna, he had wanted to preserve the innocence his light possessed, along with the various other reasons, getting killed being one of them.

He turned his eyes to the game just as Ryou had done.

At this point, Ushio's green had just about taken over his entire beefy arm. It was now impossible for him to take a stab at the silk without hurting himself in the process.

"Conceide defeat Ushio." Atemu commanded, his tone ringing with authority. "You cannot win as you are."

A long silence passed as Ushio considered his options. Atemu waited for the answer he already knew was coming. Finally, he shook his head. "No, I can still win." The hand holding the knife trembled. The giant looked up wildly, an insane smile lighting his features. "By killing _you_!" He lunged forward, dagger in hand.

A sharp intake of breath came from behind the prince, but he didn't fear. Instead, he slide his crimson eyes shut and concentrated.

In one second, Ushio was descending upon him in a fiery attempt at victory, another second later he was flung backwards, propelled by the recoil of shadow magic.

He landed on his ass a few feet by Bakura, who obviously took advantage of the situation and gave the bully a few sharp kicks in the ribs before Ryou and Jou once again had to restrain the theif and pulled him away.

Glancing around, he made up his mind. Atemu would make sure the others were too distracted with restraining Bakura again to notice what he was about to do. Seto's glare hardened on his back. _Oh well... _The prince thought _There's nothing he can to right now anyway... _

Double checking to see the group well preoccupied, he allowed the shadow magic to flow through himself. The eye of Horace began to pulse brightly on his forehead.

Perhaps it was the light, or maybe the eyes, but something about what Atemu had done made recoginition hit Ushio's surprised face like a tone of limestone.

"Y-You...You're... The... Prin-..." He paled through his stuttering. "It- It can't be!"

"Oh it can." Atemu smirked, his crimson eyes narrowing to slits."You've been a very bad boy Ushio, and for your sins you should be sent to the shadow realm." He said softly, "But in your death you would suffer greatly at the hands of Ammit, the devourer." Atemu brushed his blond bangs from his eyes. "And that is an end I would wish on no one."

"So I will spare your soul from darkness, and instead trap your mind in your greed." He continued to speak softly, "If you can escape your past deeds, my spell will become undone and the evil in your heart will be cleansed." There was a slight increase of the third eye on his forehead before the skin turned back to his usual tan. "I wish you luck Ushio."

And almost immediantly, Ushio's jaw slacked feeling himself enter a soft of bliss he had never known in his entire life. All around him appeared piles of gold.

"Money!" He croaked. It didn't even seem relevent that he could no longer see the prince; All he cared for was the gems in front of him. Yet try as he might, he could not touch the riches. "No!" He cried, "My money! My money!" He tried again and again, but the outcome was always the same. His arm would just pass through.

"From this moment on you will forever be blinded by your greed. "Atemu muttered, "Riches will be all you see, unless you can open your hearts' door to freedom." With that, he stood up from his seat on the table and plucked Seto's knife from the man's limp hands. Ushio occasionally let out a loose moan about gold, as he groped the air for the invisable pile.

"Here you are Seto." Atemu handed the knife back to the _very_ sour looking man, who immediantly shealthed it.

"How is it that no one managed to notice that gigantic laser show on your forehead?" Seto growled.

The prince shrugged. "Because you're the only one who has nothing better to do then stalk my actions to the every breathe I take."

This earned him a well deserved smack from the high priest. "Shut up or you're going in timeout." While Atemu pouted, the others cautiously made their way to Ushio, now that they were sure Bakura wasn't going to beat on his body anymore.

A new person who must have joined the group while he was playing came forward. Upon looking at him, Atemu began to feel a stong pull from his heartstrings.

The person in front of him looked to be younger then himself by a couple of years, but he held up an aura that showed he was a bit older then he looked. He had black hair, that when in any amount of light shone with purple tints at the edges. Golden brangs framed his face, pronouncing his eyes.

The prince flet his breathe catch in his through.

His eyes, Oh Ra his _eyes_. They were a shimmering amythest, glowing with an innocent and powerful light. It warmed the prince to his very core as he stared at the lithe beauty in front of him.

He shook his head. This person had to have been a god in a past life, or an angel.

The angel was looking at him with a look of confusion adorning his delicate features. He blushed, realizing he must have been staring at this person like he was a piece of meat (whereas he was the starving wolf).

He could almost feel Seto smirking from behind him. Atemu blushed furthur, realizing Seto must have seen the way he had been staring at the youth. The high priest was never going to let him live this down.

"Ano..." The captain began. A slight blush was staining his fair cheeks. The look on the sexy man's face seemed to be directed towards him, but he could have been imagining the lust that had darkened those deep crimson eyes to a dark burgandy. He himself had felt a slight tugging at his heart when his violet eyes had connected with the red orbs. And the moment their eyes met, it totally destroyed whatever it was that Yugi had wanted to say. Instead he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.

"Let me see your war notices."

* * *

**(1) Yeah, Ushio and Yami really DID play this shadow game, except with money, not silk. Details, Details...**

Will Seto and Atemu's war notices pass? Yes Yes, I know I didn't update as soon as I really wanted to, but I promise things are starting to go a bit faster now that i'm on a roll! D Anyway, Thank you Moodalian for telling me what a Beta is. (Heaven knows I need one)

I'm sorry for any mistakes i've made. I've been tweaking things here and there.

I want my Mulan dvd!!! sobs

Read and Review pleeeeeeeeeease??? 


	4. Training

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own YuGiOh or my twisted version of Mulan.**

Thank you to Moondalian for keeping me sane (tormenting me) and checking over this chapter so it's not pure crap. And Tavia for being super-special awesome and offering her help! (sniffles) You guys are so good to me!

My first Beta Chapter! (writes it down on a calender)  


* * *

The Pharaoh was seated on his golden throne. To everyone who passed all appeared normal, but if one were to look closely, one could see a shadow of fear glinting in his crimson eyes. He was worried. _Its' been two fortnights since Atemu has left.' _Aknaunkanon rose from his gilded chair. He wished he had been paying more attention to his son, maybe he would have understood why Atemu felt the need to leave. _'And Seto.'_ He thought bitterly. Wasn't the High Priest supposed to watch _over _his son? Not encourage some outrageous behaviour to run off!

He sighed and withdrew the card the prince had left behind: The Magician of Faith. _Why would he leave something like this for me? _The Pharaoh growled in frustration. If only his wife was still around to help him get through this teenage rebellion phase. His crimson eyes softened as he thought about his deceased love.

_'She would probably rake me across the coals for forcing Atemu into a marriage.' _He chuckled and tucked the card back into his robes. _'Maybe he left to gain some purpose for himself after he'd been rejected so many times...' _He had known forcing Atemu's hand had been a bad idea, considering his..._preferance._ But it was only because he didn't want Atemu to gain the throne without an heir. Ra knows it was hard to rule by himself; Having Atemu had been his only comfort since his wife's passing.

He sighed, pressing his knuckles against his temple. So far he had been able to cover up for Atemu in the hopes the he would return, there had been no such luck. As for Seto, he had told anyone who had asked that the cold man was visiting the temples in Thebes to check if they had been maintained properly. So far, no one had questioned him, but Aknaunkanon knew he couldn't hide the two forever. He didn't even know where they were!

A small tingling around his neck made him look down. It was the Millennium Puzzle. Surprisingly, the eye of Horace was pulsating in the center without the Pharaoh having to invoked its powers. The artifact seemed to want to show him something, so allowing his crimson eyes to slide closed he let his mind enter the puzzle.

* * *

At first all he could see was darkness and he panicked. The mind wasn't meant to enter the puzzle unbidden, or it would be ripped apart by the shadows and you would be lost in yourself. As if sensing the Pharaoh's discomfort, dark tendrils snaked around his arms and legs, binding them together.

The panic he felt earlier began to swell when the shadows yanked him to the ground. They clawed their way up his body, already pushing their talons into his soul. He willed his mind to calm down so he could fight back, but his worry for his son had already deteriorated the best defenses he could conjure up. It seemed like all was lost when his soul began to submit, but surprisingly the shadows froze as if in fear.

A burst of light came from somewhere above the Pharaoh, stinging his eyes. It was only when Aknaunkanon blinked back the spots in his eyes did he notice the shadows letting go of his body.

Sighing in relief he waited until the last shadow scampered back into its dark hole before he stood up. Now that he wasn't about to lose his mind, he felt a bit better. He glanced up at the light that had saved him gratefully, only to stumble back in shock.

There, before his mortal eye was a man with a head of a falcon, and one eye scarred closed. Horace: The Sky God.

"Yo." He gave the Pharaoh a beaky grin. "You seemed to be having a bit of trouble there, I assumed you needed some help."

He received no reply, only wide eyes and an unhinged jaw. "Okay..." He floated down to the ground in front of the shock-stilled Pharaoh and waved a hand in his face. "C'mon, breathe for me here; I didn't save you just so you'd go into cardiac arrest." Recognition slowly dawned on Aknanunkanon's face, showing the first sign of life since he had glimpsed the god. "There we go, come back to uh... sort of reality." Horace glanced around at the inside of the puzzle, "Or as close to it as you're going to get right now."

The Pharaoh fell to his knees in respect with his head bowed, Horace blanched and hissed slightly his good eye narrowing in anger. "Thank you for helping me oh great Hora-"

"Stop it!" Horace screeched, cutting him off before the Pharaoh could further embarrass himself. He hissed through his beak, making a soft whistling sound. "You're the living Horace, so don't bow down to me." Aknaunkanon was still-shocked once again, staring up at the falcon with wide eyes. The god let out an irritated sigh before he grabbed the king by his upper arm and dragged him to his feet.

"Listen, You and your family are under my protection." He shook the Pharaoh a bit to get his attention. "You're the _Living Horace _get it? So that means, you guys are my charges. Are you following me?"

The mortal let out a weak nod.

"So..." Horace began again, this time a bit more nervously, "I kinda fucked up a bit and let your son leave." Aknaunkanon snapped out of his daze, momentarily forgetting he was dealing with a god. "So _you _let him run off to Ra knows where?!"

The falcon blinked his one eye, "Actually, I _know_ where he ran off to, not Ra." Horace muttered something that sounded vaguely like _That prick_ under his breathe.

"That's not the _point_!"

"If you say so."

"So where _did _he go?"

"I can't tell you that."

Aknaunkanon growled in frustration and grit his teeth. "Why not...?" Horace seemed to find the ceiling very interesting right about now and refused to look the king in the eye. "What is it?" The Pharaoh questioned the uncomfortable god.

Horace looked down and gave a resigned sigh. "You know about Fate and Destiny right?" The Pharaoh nodded, already not liking the turn of the conversation. "They're twin sisters who sometimes like to take people's life into their own hands." Horace hinted. Aknaunkanon caught on.

"And they've done this to Atemu?" He asked, dread beginning to flood through his veins. "What will happen to him?"

"Those mischief makers love to write tragedies so..." Horace shrugged. "Heck if I know."

The Pharaoh lost it completely then, " _'Heck if I know'!? _" He roared, grabbing the god by the shoulders, "This is my _son_! And you don't _know_!?"

The falcon glared at him. "If I did know, then I'd be stepping on all the rules set by the ancients, by telling you anyway."

"To hell with the ancients!" He exploded, "Aren't you a _god_?" He began to pace, his anger fueling him. "What do you know about my son?" He whipped his head towards the falcon. "Tell me!"

Horace clicked his beak irately, "You sure talk a lot for a mortal, and I thought Seth was bad." Aknaunkanon shot him a venomus look and the falcon sighed. "I'll tell you only what i'm allowed to say, and don't even start yelling at me again or I'll blast you right into the shadow realm, ruler of a country or not."

"You are not allowed to speak of the things you will hear to anyone other then me, or Fate and Destiny will nail Atemu in his sarcophagus. Alive. Do you agree?" The Pharaoh nodded and waited impatiently for the god to start. "Your son enrolled in the army with the High Priest Seto." He glanced at his nails and pretended to buff them on his linen while the Pharaoh reeled backwards from the shock.

"He-He did what?!" The mortal stuttered, the color leaving his tanned face. "No, not my son..."

"Yup, the one and only Prince of Eygpt off to fight the big bad Libians." Horace blew the dust off his nails.

Aknaunkanon let out a sigh of relief, a bubble of hope rising in his chest only to have it punctured by what Horace said next. "But you're not allowed to reveal them to anyone or bring them home."

Anger flared through the Pharaoh once more, "And why not?" He demanded, "They could be killed!"

The god snapped his beak, finally losing his own cool. "Your son's growing up Aknaunkanon, Maybe if you hadn't been so set on preparing him for the throne, you would have noticed it!" He walked towards the mortal who looked as though he had been slapped, "He is now in Fate's hands and whether good or bad comes from it, it rests with you keeping your tongue under control." He narrowed his steely golden eye and looked off into the shadows.

"It _was _my job to watch over you and your son." The falcon let out a defeated sigh, "And I admit that I failed in my attempt to shield him, but I'm not the only one at fault." He shot a pointed look at Aknaunkanon.

The Pharaoh began to notice the outline of Horace was fading away, and the guilt for his neglect of his son was wearing him down deep inside. The god had made it clear that he was not to interfere in Atemu and Seto's enrollment at war, nor in anything that may effect them; The king was distraught as he looked up at the god who was now just a faint glimmer.

"Please watch over my son." He begged. Horace looked down at the Pharaoh, and the mortal swore he saw a trace of a smile curved on the god's beak.

"_Now_ you're starting to get the right idea..."

* * *

"Well, this is different..."

"Shut up and get your head down!" Seto snapped, grabbing Jou around his neck and forcefully dragging him to the ground. A spiked ball spun over both of their heads, much to the honey-eyed boy's surprise.

"Fuck!" Jou gasped.

Seto didn't have time to agree with the blond, he dragged them both off the ground and started running down the narrow passage in front of them. "C'mon mutt, we've got to keep moving." Jounouchi was so unused to being dragged along like on a leash, he allowed himself to stumble along beside the pushy boy.

"Quit pushin'" He growled, annoyed. "Seth, slow down!" He ripped his arm from the older's grasp, only to stumble backwards from using too much force. His sandaled foot sunk down on a soft piece of limestone when he tried to regain his balance. Honey eyes widened in shock. "Oh double fuck."

Seto quickly grabbed Jou's arm and began hauling him back down the hallway. "You set off _another _trap!?"

"I didn't mean to!" The teenager shot back, running along side the high priest. "If you weren't so _pushy_."

"If you weren't such a _Mutt..._"

"What's THAT supposed to mean?!"

Both the boys were so busy arguing they didn't notice the walls around them open up into a bunch of tiny shafts. Jou's eyes opened wide in shock once again, "Uh... Seth!" he gripped the tan arm infront of him, and tugged on his blue robe. "We have a problem..."

Seto, much used to being called by his actual name whipped his head towards the mutt in surprise, "What is it!?"

Wordlessly, the blond man pointed towards the walls, which were glinting an odd silver color: arrows on springs, getting ready to fire.

"Triple fuck." The high priest growled.

* * *

As Jou and Seto stumbled through the illusion grounds, falling over each other. The crowd watching them had erupted into peals of laughter, only interrupted when they gasped for breath. Seto glared tiredly at the company, trying to ignore the dead weight of the mutt on top of him. He let out an inward groan and slumped his head against the desert ground in defeat.

"Alright Ryou, Bakura go ahead and let the illusion go," Yugi laughed, the two albinos collapsed on the ground in a fit of laughter. "I wonder though, why was the battle field shaped like a pharaoh's tomb?"

Bakura coughed under his breath, trying vainly to hide his guilt "We just thought it would be a good idea to stage it there, loads of traps, death around every corner..."

"Any idea how you constructed such a highly detailed replica of the pharaoh's late fathers' tomb?" Yugi questioned slyly as Bakura coughed again.

"Coincidence! Purely coincidence..."

"My, my, doesn't _someone _sound defensive." Ryou chuckled.

Jou and Seto both stumbled towards the group. Seto, who was hissing curses under his breathe panted, "Where the hell did you come up with _that _idea?!" He growled at Bakura. "I don't think I've ever been that close to death so many times in a row!"

The albino grinned, "Past adventures" He said vaguely.

"Tomb robber." The high priest spat.

"You're just jealous you and your puppy got skewered by a volley of arrows." Bakura shot back, watching smugly as Seto smirked at Jou being called 'his puppy', and the blond spit with indignation. Yugi and Ryou leaned on each other for support as the laughed at the bewildered look on their friend's face.

"You got tha wrong idea pal!" Jounichi protested, glaring around at the others. Now that he looked around, there was only one person who wasn't making fun of them. "Ey, isn't someone missing?"

Seto looked around, sure enough the one person who he would have thought to have the most fun ridiculing him and Jou was absent. His azure eyes glanced around for his cousin. "Has anyone seen Yami?"

They all shook their heads and Yugi sighed in irritation. "Great, he skipped out on training again." He sighed, "How am I going to get the message of these exercises across if he doesn't show up?"

"Dere was a point?" Jou asked, earning him a smack from his smaller friend.

"Yes there was Jounouchi!" Yugi exclaimed, putting his hands on his hips, "You and Seth both _obviously _failed to figure it out."

"How do ya figure that?" Jou challenged, crossing his arms. "Maybe we _did _figure it out, Oh ye of little faith!" He tsked with a wolfish grin on his face. Seto rolled his eyes.

"You two died, that's how he knows." Ryou interjected with a smile. So far, only he and Bakura had been able to pass through Yugi's illusion test. Atemu hadn't gotten a chance to try yet, so no one knew how well he could fair. As for Jou and Seto, well... You know how that ended up.

Yugi sighed before turning to the company. "You will stand at attention while I go find our missing solider." They let out a loud groan before doing what their tiny captain requested, backs ram-rod straight with their feet apart and hands neatly folded behind them.

When they got their hands on the slimy little scarab who sneaked out of training, they'd not only hurt him, but severely maim him as well.

* * *

The young prince that many were cursing was at the Oasis. Although enjoying himself, he was not. He slowly unwrapped the bindings that pressed against his inflamed back. With shaking hands he dropped them on a branch that was twisted above his head and sunk into the pool of water with a grateful sigh.

The tattoos etched on his back connected him with his lineage, the palace, and one fact he had forgotten until now: His father. He cursed his foolishness, realizing he was feeling the pain his father had felt when he had learned of his disappearence. Had his father really cared that much?

A shot of pain rocketed through his markings, confirming his silent question. "I guess that's my answer." Atemu gasped, running a tan hand over his back. "Dang that really hurts..." The Prince once again cursed his rash decision to leave, not for his own pain, but for the pain he had inflicted on his closest relative.

Crimson eyes saddened as he thought about his father, pacing in his throne room, worry etched on his aging face. _'I am sorry father, but I can't leave yet.' _The Prince thought regretfully _'I have to finish what I started, it is as you told me when I was younger; I will make you proud.' _

His back suddenly feeling slightly better, he moved to get out of the water, only when a familiar voice made him fall back into the water with a frightened splash.

"Yami!"

_...FlashBack..._

_"Let me see your war notice."_

_Atemu glanced at the smaller look-a-like he had felt so connected to with some confusion. "And you are...?"_

_"Captain Yugi Mouto."_

_"Really?"_

_"No, I'm lying." Yugi said impatiently, "Notices please."_

_Wordlessly, Atemu passed him his notice, silently thanking Seto for nicking it from Maahado. He silently prayed to whatever god was listening to let him get away with this full blown act of treason._

_Amethyst eyes crinkled in confusion as they skimmed over the papyrus. "I think we have a problem." Yugi murmered. And for one tense moment, Atemu felt his blood run cold in his veins. "You forgot to fill in your name!" The captain smiled, handing it back to him._

_"My name is..." He glanced around himself for help, but his eyes seemed to veer only towards the innocent being so. Once again he noted how much light seemed to fill Yugi; So being trapped between a rock and a hard place, he blurted the first thing that came to his mind. "...Yami."_

_Yugi smiled, once again wreaking havoc on Atemu's heartstrings. "It's good to meet you Yami." The captain scratched his cheek and laughed._

_Atemu smiled, amused. "The pleasure is all mine." He shot the captain another look, his grin widening into a smirk before brushing past the tri-haired youth. Yugi had blushed to the roots of his blond bangs, catching the look on Atemu's face. Distracted he turned towards Seto, not even bothering with his war notice._

_"A-and what's you're name?" He stammered_

_"Seth." A curt reply. How typical of the High Priest, his azure eyes weren't on his captain though. Instead, trained on the blond man standing awkwardly by himself._

_...End FlashBack..._

A smile began to cross his lips as he heard his captain approach. For a split second, his happiness of seeing Yugi overshadowed a much larger concern.

His back was completely exposed to sight after shedding his tunic and bandages. Bandages that Yugi had apparently just noticed, for the small teenager let out a cry of concern. "Yami! Are you hurt?"

Before the Prince could respond, Yugi had gone splashing into the Oasis, worry shining in his amethyst eyes. Atemu quickly sunk down to his nose, trying vainly to hide from his captain. It was a ridiculous attempt, for his tri-colored hair stuck out and completely exposed him.

"Yami? What are you doing?" The captain blinked his bambi eyes in confusion. Was Yami hurt or not?

The older straightened up quickly as though he had just noticed the other, "Oh! Hello Yugi, I didn't notice you there!" His crimson eyes darted around, trying to find a way out. He laughed nervously, not finding one. "What are you doing here?"

Yugi, now having full view of the nicely sculpted chest that Atemu had normally kept so well hidden, could only gape like a fish. Ra beat down on Atemu's tanned shoulders, catching light on the droplets that dripped from his golden bangs. He could see his slender, but toned biceps flex under the sun-kissed skin, becoming all too aware of his sudden urge to press his lips against the coppered shoulder.

The Captain shook his head, blushing to his roots. _I was molesting him with my eyes!!! _Yugi thought frantically, totally forgetting why he had come there in the first place. "Uhm, what-...?"

Atemu looked at Yugi patiently, aware of the amethyst eyes scanning over his body. He fought back the smug smirk that was just begging to make itself known and chose this time to look for an escape. He caught sight of his bandages in Yugi's hand, being held with loose fingers. He could make a grab for them, and risk showing a part of his tattoo to his captain (of all people), or just sit here and let Yugi find out by himself. He assumed the captain was here to chew him out for skipping training, so he would soon snap out of whatever was distracting him and push him out of the Oasis himself.

He moved as silently as he could through the water, keeping his crimson eyes locked on the amethyst ones to keep them in a spell. He slowly reached his hand out and gently pried the soaked linen from Yugi's hands and backed away again. He was in danger of being trapped within the glimmering violet depths of his captain's eyes, not a very good thing for a person in his predicament so he opted to break contact.

Yugi shook his head, and refocused his eyes on Atemu. He had apparently taken the bandaged back from him and was now wrapping his chest carefully. "Are you injured Yami?" He asked softly, his bambi eyes wide in concern, the blush from his previous thoughts still staining his cheeks.

Atemu considered the question before nodding, no use in lying, he'd probably tell anyway. "In a way Little One." Was his vague response. The glint of worry shone in violet eyes, and Atemu cursed himself for causing his captain distress. He tucked the edge under his arm neatly and moved through the water with confidence. Now that his secret was no longer in danger of being revealed, he didn't have to worry about Yugi seeing.

"What's wrong?" The younger questioned. He gasped, "B-But if you don't want to tell me, that's fine!"

Atemu nodded, smiling softly in thanks. "That would be for the best, I'd rather not speak of it."

Yugi sighed, almost disappointed. Atemu caught on, "Don't worry about it though, it's nothing bad so-to speak." He smirked, "I take good care of myself." He was shot a disbelieving glare, looking magnificently ineffective coming from his cute counter-part. "So I take it you don't believe me."

"Not as far as I can throw you."

"Comforting."

"Yeah, considering I can't pick you up..."

A shift in conversation was in order, so Atemu glanced up at one of the lush leaves absently. His crimson eyes turned towards the captain, noting he looked so cute when he was drenched in water. Was he interested in his captain? Well, a bit... His lips curved into a smirk and he purred, "So Hikari, did you have some sort of sixth sense that I was licking my wounds, or did you come for a reason?" He loved watching Yugi blush red from embarrasment, and from his new nickname that's exactly what the young captain did.

"Wh-What did you say?"

"Did you have some sort of sixth sense?" Atemu blinked, smirking at his pink captain.

"No, Before that." He said impatiently.

"So."

"Yamiiii!!!" The smaller whined.

Atemu's smirk widened, and pulled the long strand of dark-violet hair that was tucked behind Yugi's ear out. His tan fingers brushed against the silky cream skin of his light. "Hikari?" Numb, the younger nodded. "What about it?" The prince questioned slyly.

Yugi tried to fight back his raging blush but soon gave up, realizing it was already dominating most of his face. "Why did you call me that?" He murmured shyly. The Prince allowed the inky hair to slip out of his fingers, instead resting his fingertips against the younger's high cheekbone. He marveled at their contrasting skin tones before he brushed his fingers lightly down to Yugi's chin; carefully, he guided Yugi's face to his own. "Because Hikari, You are light itself." He said simply, relishing the expression on his light's face.

Yugi wouldn't admit to himself that he was enjoying Atemu's feather-light caresses as he leaned into his touch, trying to suppress the shiver that was trying to run up his spine. "W-what about you? What are you?" He asked, managing to keep his voice under control.

The smirk that had faded into a smile once again made itself known. Atemu brushed his hand down to the base of Yugi's neck, invoking a small mewl from the younger. The prince heard but didn't acknowledge it, instead pressing his forehead against his counter-parts. "I can't be light," He answered again. "I am dark."

With that, he let his hands slip to his sides, leaving Yugi there by himself in the water, confused and trying to fight back his shivers.

Atemu paused at the bank, before laughing. "Weren't you coming here to yell at me for skipping training?" He asked, slipping his shirt back on before darting off.

Yugi stared, shocked at his recruit before splashing out after him. "Yami! Get back here!" He screeched, giving chase to the older.

There seemed to be more to him then Yugi had originally thought. He would have to keep a closer eye on his "darkness".

* * *

When they both finally got back to the campsite, Yugi found his recruits almost dead on their feet. All pale from the blood running down to their lower extremities. They seemed ready to collapse. "At ease!" Yugi called out quickly, watching as each man fell to the ground in a boneless pile.

"That's something you don't see every day." Atemu muttered, glancing around at the men who wanted nothing more then to kill him. "Hello." He greeted, immune to the glares.

"You missed a lot" Yugi crossed his arms, "Don't think I'm going to let you off either."

Atemu grinned, "I'd have it no other way." He cocked his head. "So what _did _I miss?"

"Shadow Illusions."

Atemu winced, "That doesn't sound very nice."

"It's not," Seto growled behind him. "And where have _you _been?" He demanded. Atemu grinned like the Cheshire Cat and ignored him, knowing full well how much it would irritate the older teenager. He'd spill all the gory details later. "Was it really that bad?" He asked with general concern. Seto turned an interesting shade of green and nodded, "I'd rather not experience it again in this life time..."

"Uh..."

Yugi touched his shoulder and gave the Prince an uncharacteristic smirk. "You can only make it out of the illusion if you **A. Die, B. Figure out the point of the excersise, or C. Somehow make it to the end alive.**" Atemu felt a chill go down his spine. "Let's see if we have a volunteer to go with you, now shall we?"

Automatically everyone took a gigantic step backwards, leaving only Yugi and Atemu in the center. Yugi pouted, "You guys don't have a shred of courage do you?" The captain demanded.

The company took another step backwards, fully agreeing with their officer.

"And you guys think you're ready for war." Yugi muttered under his breath. He turned towards Atemu, "Well Yami, it looks like I'll have to be your partner." The prince nodded, this test seemed to make everyone jittery, even the normally confident Seto was skittish, so by the time he and Yugi stepped into the field of illusion, he was expecting the worst. Especially since Yugi had assigned the job of coming up with the illusion to their four friends: Ryou, Jou, Seto, and Bakura. He knew in the pit of his stomach that they were coming up with the worst possible field, praying on both of their weaknesses.

"Ready!" Jou called, blinking oh-so innocently. Atemu didn't believe the blond for a second. And he certainly didn't like the smirk on Bakura and Seto's face; They weren't trustworthy. Ryou had a mischievous glint in his green eyes, apparently, he was throwing a challenge at them first, because no sooner had Yugi given the 'okay', the albino trapped them in shadow magic.

* * *

Yugi could feel Atemu shift beside him; He couldn't move his legs. A large hour glass appeared before them, the sand trickling quickly to the bottom. Apparently, they had one minute to figure out how to move again. Ryou's test took away their movement, so there had to be a way to get it back. Yugi almost smiled. The four had obviously planned a strategy, even if they made it through Ryou's test, his effect to their bodies would last. "We have about one minute to figure out how to move." Yugi supplied for Atemu.

The older cursed beside him, he had figured out as much as Yugi had, but he still had no idea how he was supposed to go about the test if both of them couldn't move. He reached out to his younger counter-part and touched him on the shoulder to get his attention. Yet as soon as Atemu touched the bare skin of Yugi, feeling suddenly shot through both of their legs.

"Hey, I can move!" Yugi exclaimed, taking a step forward. As soon as he was out of Atemu's touch however, they were both frozen again. Yugi toppled to the ground since he only had one foot on the ground when they were robbed of their movement again. "Ra damn it all." Atemu growled, his crimson eyes narrowed to slits. He reached out a hand to help Yugi from the ground, the smaller boy took the hand gratefully, not enjoying the feeling of his face planted on the ground.

Once again, as soon as their skin touched, they fell back into motion, tumbling together in a tangle of limbs. "Well this is interesting." Came Yugi's muffled voice from Atemu's shirt. "Indeed it is..." Atemu muttered, grasping Yugi's hand in his and helping them both up. He smirked at the blush that was dusted across the younger's cheeks. It had finally gone away, only to come back with a vengeance once Yugi's face had found it's way to Atemu's chest. "It seems like we'll only be able to move if we're touching each other in some way or another."

Yugi heated up again at the double meaning. He beginning to wish he hadn't chosen Ryou, Bakura, Jou and Seto for this exercise, the captain was sure a thousand more moments like the one that just happened were going to happen again.

Atemu and Yugi headed over to the hour glass, just as the last few grains of sand were slipping through the opening. Atemu took it in hand and flipped it over. "We pass."

* * *

**And thus, their training begins.**

I think I'm doing pretty darn good with this fic! I am very determined to finish this fic! I've already typed up half of the next chapter! Bare with me, it'll be up soon enough!

A few of you have been kind enough to mention to me that I'm not following the story line of Mulan exactly. Well, yeah... This isn't supposed to be a carbon copy, I'm just going to clear that up now so I don't irritate anyone. Mulan is the skeleton of this fic.

Just think of it like this:

Vanilla Ice and Queen.

'Nuff said.


	5. Training part 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own YuGiOh, or the vague plotline of Mulan, OR the riddles! The first one is from my Beta Moondalian, the second one is from Deltora Quest. (You guys should check out Moondalian's fic 'Don't Let Go' if you haven't. It's the awesomesauce!)**

* * *

Horace frowned, the sky god was unsure of his next move. He was trying to figure out the best way to solve the problem Destiny had given him. There seemed no way his charge would survive after the two sisters of time were done manhandling him. He knew if anyone were to be at fault for what was to happen to Atemu, the blame would rest with him.

The golden eye of Horace slid shut as he recalled the day the Pharaoh's son was born. A smile drew itself on the curved beak of the god. He had been present when the child had come into the world. It was supposed to be a happy day, and his only intention was to bless the child with a healthy life.

But there had been one thing he hadn't counted on; His presence attracting another force: The twins of time.

_It had been a long day and night; the queen struggled to produce the heir to the throne, her son. Many feared for the life of the child, but even more so for the life of the queen._

_The mid-wife stroked the queen's head and turned to the pale faced Pharaoh. "It's a boy your majesty." She smiled warmly. The Pharaoh could only nod back and smile weakly. This was definitely an experience he never wanted to see again. **(1) **_

_Horace looked on, slightly disgusted himself. This was the first time he had witnessed a birth. Usually his mother, Isis would show up to bless the child of the pharaoh, but this time Horace had wanted to give a gift to the child himself. Now he wasn't sure if it had been a good idea._

_"Feeling sick to your stomach?" A voice behind him laughed._

_The falcon god spun around sharply. His eye narrowed and the hand resting on the golden sword tied to his side tightened. "Who's there?" He clicked his beak in a demanding way._

_Two shadowed formed melted before him. He could distinctly make out the two smoky figures of Fate and Destiny. Two large, wicked yellow eyes gleamed out from their bangs of shadows. "Ladies," He said politely. "What a surprise."_

_"Horace babe," Fate winked with her large luminous eyes. "Surprise is right bird brain, how've you been?"_

_The sky god glared with his good eye. "I've been well." He replied frostily. He looked at the two shadowed girls and their glowing yellow orbs, a glint of mischief permeated through them. "What is your reason for being here?" He asked cautiously. "You two have never been interested in the blessing of a new born child before."_

_Fate looked hurt, while Destiny's face gave away nothing. "Did you hear that sister? How mean of him to assume we wouldn't be here for the birth of a prince!" Fate complained._

_"Yes." Destiny agreed, tonelessly. "How mean."_

_A wicked smile curved onto Fate's lips, "We'll have you know that's exactly why we're here." Horace raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "You can't honestly expect me to believe that can you?" Fate's face fell a bit, but the falcon wasn't finished. "Are you sure you're really not here to spread discord like you two usually do?" He asked suspiciously._

_Fate pouted and looked at her older sibling. Destiny nodded, and the younger sister's face split into a grin of delight. Horace couldn't fathom the reason for the psychotic smile on Fate's face, but he assumed it had something to do with the gift. She swooped down to the small baby and gave him a tender smile._

_Horace frowned. As much as he wished to stop the childish Fate and -not so childish- Destiny from giving the boy a gift, he couldn't. He was only allowed to watch and observe while Fate gave the baby a soft kiss on his forehead._

_"I give you three gifts child." She said kindly. Horace didn't miss the undercurrents of excitement running through her voice. "The first gift will be beauty; you will be exotic in your looks and nature, a rare diamond in the mines of amethyst."_

_Horace frowned in suspicion. That gift wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. It meant the prince would be different looking from all the other children he'd play with; something not necessarily good to the sometimes close-minded people of Egypt._

_It wasn't bad in the sense that when the boy grew up, he'd be sought after, an heir found more quickly. It was an unusual gift, one that was rarely given, but many gods in the past had bestowed the blessing of beauty._

_Fate kissed the cheek of the boy next. "My second gift to you child, is darkness of mind and body."_

_Okay, that'll cause some problems. Horace thought bitterly, a crease further forming between his eyebrows. Darkness would give the boy insight to the world, strength of spirit, power and intelligence. However, the darkness would leave a void in the boy's soul. If all was dark in him, where would the balance of light be? He would be incomplete, and forever would hunger for something to make him feel complete._

_The sky god scowled at Fate. I knew she wouldn´t give a gift without repercussions._

_The shadow swept down for the third and final time, planting a kiss on the baby's soft left cheek. "My third and final gift to you child." She said softly, a maniacal glint now evident in her yellow eyes. "A soul mate, bound to you forever by love."_

_"No!" Horace yelled, leaping forward to pull Fate from the baby. Destiny held him back. "You can't!" He hollered. Whenever a child was 'blessed' with a soul mate, they usually never found their love. They could search the whole world for their entire life, but never find the one they were looking for. "The child will never be happy with anyone less than his soul mate!" Horace strained against the shadows of Destiny. He whipped his head around at the girl and pecked a large hole into her neck; it had the desired effect and she let go._

_"How rude," Destiny muttered, the shadows reforming in her throat. She glided over to her sister. Fate straightened up, looking annoyed. "Well think of it this way." She growled. "At least it'll counter the gift of darkness I gave him." Her attitude took another turn. "His soul mate will be light itself," She sighed happily. "They'll forever be the balance of each other... Isn't that romantic?"_

_"Very." Horace stated dryly. "Too bad they'll probably never meet each other; your gift is a curse."_

_Fate gave a look at Destiny, who turned her eyes towards the baby. "Oh have a little faith," She giggled. "That's where my sister comes in."_

_Horace felt his insides turn cold. His eye widened in horror. He didn't want the child's life to be in Destiny's hands, she tended to drop things. _

_ But it was too late, the shadowed woman already had her hand placed on the baby's forehead. "Nameless child," She whispered, in the same toneless voice she always spoke with. "I will give you a great destiny." A purple light began to flow around her hand. "Carry it out well, and you will survive." She withdrew and ghosted herself back to Fate._

_"The wheels of time are spinning!" The younger exclaimed happily._

_"Yes." Destiny replied, a small smile lingering on her face for the first time since the world´s creation. "And now it's time for fate to play its part." She looked pointedly at her sister._

_"Ah!" The younger jolted. She clasped hands with her solemn sister, "Four gifts from the daughters of time require a gift in return." Fate looked at Horace, "So we'll be taking the life of the child's mother!" She let out a pristine giggle._

_Horace shook his head in annoyance. "The Queen is expected to live into old age!" He argued. "You can't just kill her off out of amusement."_

_The older sister's smile dropped. "Actually, we can." Horace opened his mouth to argue, but she beat him to it, cutting him off. "Anything that gets in the way of the destiny the Prince must take will be eliminated." She said softly. "You are powerless to stop us."_

_Horace fumed. "Why are you doing this?" He snapped his beak in defeat._

_"Spoiled little brats," He hissed under his breathe. "Father Time must have his hands full when dealing with you two." _

_"Oh, he pretty much lets us do whatever we want." Fate giggled. _

_Horace had listened to her prattle long enough. "Just wait." He glared at Destiny. She remained impassive. "You'll get what's coming to you in time._

The older sister just shook her head. "Impossible. We are _time." She turned to Fate and nodded to her. "Do it." _

_The Queen gasped, as though sensing she was at death´s door. She clutched her child close to her and kissed her husband goodbye. "Atemu..." She breathed to Aknaunkanon. "The child's name is Atemu..." _

_Fate plunged her hand into the woman's chest a second later; And then the beloved queen of _ _Egypt__ died, baby in her arms and husband by her side. _

_The baby, silent until now, shrieked at the top of his lungs, crying. Aknaunkanon took him into his arms and rocked him back and forth, trying to sooth the child. But Atemu wouldn't calm, it was as if he himself felt responsible for his mother's death. Tears rolled down from his father's crimson eyes and into his black beard._

He knew that he and his wife would never be allowed to see their son grow up together, and cursed Anubis for taking away his love. 

_Pleased, Fate withdrew her hand and let out a soft giggle, apparently very pleased with her work _

_"Let's be off." Destiny said to her sister, who in turn nodded. _

_And with that, the two sisters left Horace alone to silently give his comfort to the broken family. Comfor they could neither feel nor appreciate. He floated down to Aknaunkanon's level and looks at the child. Atemu, freshly dried off had a full head of soft black and red hair. His eyes wouldn't open yet, but the sky god knew that when they would, they would be the harsh crimson red of his father. _

_Sadly, Horace placed his hand on the child's forehead. "I, Horace the god of the sky, give you, Atemu, the power of the gods." He frowned softly. He wished there was more he could do. "Let your aim be that of a Falcon, Let your luck hold strong like Osiris, and let your justice overflow like that of Ma'at." _

_His golden eye slid closed. "Please let this be enough to guide you through the horrors of your destiny." He prayed. _

Golden eyes reopened. All this time, he had thought they had forgotten about the Prince, but the pain had come again. He sighed and glanced down at the pool he was watching. It reflected a proud, healthy young man, who was currently fighting through shadows with the hand of his soul mate clasped in his own.

_I hope this ends well._ He sighed.

* * *

Back in reality, Ryou was pleased. "They made it through." The others let out a sigh of relief. "If they hadn't made it through a test _that _simple, I would have had to kill them both." Bakura smirked, jerking his head towards the two.

Jounouchi cracked his knuckles, "It's my turn right?"

Seto scowled, "Just don't make the challenge as brainless as you are."

"'Ey," Jou barked, "Keep talkin' pretty boy and I'll knock yours outta your blown up head!"

"I'd like to see you try."

* * *

Hand in hand, the two walked aimlessly across a white path that had appeared once they beat Ryou's challenge. As far as the eye could see, there had been no pause to the endless winding path. Atemu paused; his crimson eyes wide, "Hikari, do you see that..?" He whispered his lips barely moving.

Yugi followed his rigid gaze, his amethyst eyes widening in shock.

Before them was a large crow, standing rigidly on the path. Directly behind the crow was an old temple that Seto used to go to pray. Atemu's eyes narrowed, "I think we have to get to the crow to get to the next stage." He whispered to Yugi, the younger nodding fractionally.

"Ey, you're a smart one aren'tcha?" A voice barked.

"Jounouchi?" Yugi started.

The voice sounded a lot like their blond friend, but it couldn't have been him, could it? They both swiveled their heads, looking for their cheerful friend. The only thing that met their eyes was the black shadows around them.

"Lookin' for someone?" The voice of Jounichi came again, this time from above them. Their eyes shot upward, only to be met with the frighteningly close eyes of the crow. "Cheers." It said happily.

"This must be Jou's test." Yugi said faintly.

"A crow..." Atemu muttered disbelievingly, "Well it makes sense that he would position himself in front of Seto's." He smirked at the double meaning.

"AH-EM!" The crow screeched irritably, with a hint of embarrassment. "Do ya punks want to talk all day or hear what I got ta say?!" It ruffled its feathers, annoyed. Yugi coughed an apology before biding the crow to continue. Atemu had fallen silent, but his smirk had yet to disappear.

"Tha's better."

"I hafta guard this road until truth and lies are one." It said irritably. "So listen up."

They waited for the bird to continue, but it had gotten distracted by one of its tail feathers poking out and had begun to preen itself. "Uhm, excuse me..." Yugi interrupted softly. The crow fixed him with a steely eye. "What is it pipsqueak?" It seemed to catch itself before Yugi had a chance to continue and laughed/screeched. "Oh yeah, the challenge!"

The crow settled itself into the center of the road. "For this part o' the game, you guys can let go of each other ta move. If you guys manage to get past me, you'll have ta hold on ta each other again, but that's a pretty big 'if', so I wouldn't hold my breath." Atemu rolled his eyes. "Get on with it." He growled and reluctantly let go of Yugi's hand. The crow was right, he could still move. Joy.

"Ta get past me, all you guys have ta do is answer my riddle, One each." The crow said haughtily. "No helpin' each other either, ya see?"

"And what happens if we lose?" Yugi questioned, his amethyst eyes staring into golden ones. They seemed to glow with mirth at answering this. A chill went down both of their spines. Nothing so evil should be so happy.

"I'll ask you how you would like to die, and then I will kill you the way you desire." It smiled.

Atemu shifted a glance towards his captain; the idea seemed to be as displeasing to him as it was to the Prince. Nonetheless, they had to accept. "Very well, I'll go-" Atemu started before he was cut off by his captain.

"No Yami." Yugi interrupted. "I'll go first."

The Prince pressed his lips together in displeasure. He had wanted to see what types of riddles the crow would give to them so Yugi would have a better chance at answering his correctly. Apparently Yugi had the same thoughts in mind, and he had no choice but to listen to his captain –as he already had stepped forward-.

Yugi stepped forward, "What is your riddle?"

The crow shifted its claws and ruffled its feathers again. "Here it is...

"_I can run swiftly and silently when you want me to stay still,  
I can move slowly and cautiously and am yours to fill.  
You look at me often and yet you always forget me,  
I am the most feared killer, yet you can't live without me.  
Sometimes you have me for all to spare,  
Yet when you need me, I am not there.  
You can waste me, or cherish me, you choose the track,  
But once you're done with me, you can never get me back  
What am I?"_

Atemu and Yugi exchanged looks.

"You've got five minutes."

"Another time limit?" Atemu muttered, glancing worriedly at Yugi. The captain gripped Atemu's hand again, seeking comfort. He could feel Atemu's breath at his ear, a surprisingly soothing force. His amethyst eyes closed in concentration. "I've got this." He murmured, reassuring the older. He asked the crow to repeat the riddle.

Minutes began to slip away, the sand trickling through the hourglass rapidly. Yugi had less then a minute to answer correctly. His amethyst eyes focused on the oddly shaped glass when a sudden thought struck him. The captain smiled and looked at the crow.

"Time," He said calmly, just as the last grains of sand slipped to the bottom.

The crow squawked with impatience. "Cheeky brat," It hissed, "You're right."

Atemu let out a sigh of relief, much tenser then he had let show. He wrapped his arms around the younger version of himself and gave him a gentle squeeze. "Good job Hikari." Then he pushed him forward to cross the path of the crow. "I'll be fine," He muttered. "No overgrown bird will scare me."

Yugi let himself passed to the other side, glancing worriedly at Atemu. The crow had heard his last comment, and was not pleased by the teenager's rudeness.

The captain groaned,_ 'Yami's mouth probably handed him a really tough riddle on a golden platter.' _He thought with worry.

"Well, if you're in such a hurry…" The crow rasped out the next riddle, and sure enough it was almost as long as Yugi's:

"_Ammit gulps her favorite food  
In her caver with all her brood:  
Hot, Tot, Jin, Jod,  
Fie, Fly, Zon, Zod,  
Pik, Smik, Lun, Lon,  
And the dreaded Ichabod.  
Each child holds a slimy toad.  
On each toad squirm two fat grubs,  
On each grub ride two fleas brave,  
How many living in Ammit's cave?" _

Yugi almost let himself sigh with relief; this challenge was no riddle at all! There were thirteen children who each carried five creatures, That was one hundred and four right there, counting Ammit there was one hundred and five. Yugi smiled, One hundred and five was the answer.

Atemu, who already had come to the same conclusion his captain had recounted. There was something odd about this challenge, something he wasn't quite seeing. Yet no matter how hard he looked, he could only count one hundred and five living creatures.

Atemu stood still, re-counting in his head. He made sure to use up all his time before he answered, there was no use rushing his choice. After a few tense moments he looked up at the crow. "There are one hundred and five living in Ammit's cave." He said confidently.

Yugi mentally cheered. That was the same answer he had gotten! He reached out to Atemu so they could make their way onto the next task.

He froze.

Ryou's spell was taking effect once again.

Atemu found himself frozen as well, confused he looked up at the crow. It had a wicked glint in its eyes. "That is incorrect." The crow said harshly. "You have answered badly."

Atemu's eyes widened for a moment before he realized his mistake. Those who went to Ammit were already dead, and a god could not be considered alive in the first place

There were no living in Ammit´s cave.

Yugi glanced over at Atemu who was staring at him with calm crimson eyes. _Jou has some really twisted perception of challenges. _He thought frantically, looking for a way to save Atemu.

His heart clenched in fear and his knees felt weak, Ryou's curse being the only thing holding him up. His eyes began to sting as he thought of the crow tearing apart the man he was slowly growing attached to. "Yami..." He whispered, his hand clutching at the cloth on his chest.

"I will keep to my word." The crow said, mockingly. "I will allow you to choose how you die." He sighed, as if he was doing Atemu a large favor.

"You are only allowed to say one thing. If the statement is true, I will rip off your arm. If the statement is false, I will gouge out your eyes."

One statement was going to decide his fate? Atemu frowned not liking his options. Neither sounded pleasant. He thought quickly, there _had_ to be a way out.

"You have one minute." The hourglass tipped over, its sands shifting to adjust to the time change.

Atemu stared, he was being timed?

It seemed to be a continuation of the previous challenge. Crimson eyes narrowed. In fact, he was sure of it. The Prince thought carefully, before his eyes widened in realization. A spectacular idea occurred to him and he almost laughed in giddy joy.

"I will have my eyes gouged out." He said boldly.

It took everything Yugi had not to gasp in horror. He was sure that Atemu wouldn't want to die sightless and slowly. At least with his arm ripped out, there was a chance he could survive. Unshed tears began to gather at the corners of his eyes, expecting to fully see the crow swoop down on Atemu to complete the task.

However, it remained frozen, still almost. As if it was confused.

Atemu smirked victoriously. "What's wrong?" He challenged. "Didn't you hear my statement?"

The crow didn't move. The Prince knew he couldn't, for if Atemu was telling the truth, he'd have to rip off an arm, thus making it false. If the statement was false, the crow would gouge out his eyes, thus making it true.

Yugi quirked his head in confusion.

Atemu didn't really blame his captain; -his own head spun just thinking about trying to rationalize that one out. The crow shuddered for a moment before erupting in a burst of purple shadows.

Shocked and wide-eyed, Atemu felt movement return to his limbs. He returned to Yugi's side, who was staring at the spot the guardian bird had once stood.

"'I guard this road until truth and lies are one.'" He quoted, staring at Atemu in amazement. "Yami, you set him free." He whispered, awed.

Atemu blushed at his light's look of admiration. "I was really just focused on living." He admitted, forcing the blush from his face. He took Yugi's hand in his own. He didn't dare look at Yugi, now afraid he had either a stupid smile on his face or a red stain on his cheeks. _'Oh why does he have to make me feel this way?' _He begged to any god for answers. _'And why at a time like this?' _

They made their way to Seto's temple.

_

* * *

_

At the end of Seto and Bakura's challenges Atemu groaned, pulling an arrow from his arm. It dropped to the ground through his loose fingers with a clatter. He didn't bother picking it back up, he was in too much pain. They had both made it to the end of Bakura's challenge, when Atemu had set off a wire trap: Hard to see with multiple switches. 'That sadistic bastard.' As Atemu had called him.

He slumped against the limestone wall of the temple. If Yugi hadn't pulled him backwards at the last moment, he would currently be filled with a lot more holes than he was now.

"Are you okay?" Yugi asked in concern. He received a blank look in return. It clearly said, 'What do you think?'

"Oh sure," Atemu said bitterly. "It's an off day when I _don't _have an arrow lodged into my shoulder." He pressed his hand against the wound to stop the bleeding. Illusion or not, it was too damn realistic for his taste. Atemu looked over at the captain, realizing he had hurt his feelings.

The younger looked down, saddened a bit by his dark half's harsh words. He had just wanted to make sure he wasn't in excruciating pain

"Thank you." Atemu's deep baritone caught his attention. The darker version of him was smiling again. "If you hadn't pulled me away when you did, then I would've had an arrow buried in my throat instead." He looked at Yugi kindly, "You work very well with teamwork, don't you?" His crimson eyes gleamed, catching the young light's amethyst ones. "That is what the point of your training is, yes?" He questioned.

He shifted Yugi so he could see the owner's innocent amethyst eyes more clearly. "You are the best aibou, Thank you.

The young hikari's eyes widened at the new nickname, and once again he blushed.

"Yugi," Atemu asked, concerned at the younger who was silent. "Are you alright?"

The younger opened his mouth to tell the older boy he was fine. He never got a chance, for at that moment the ground opened up at their feet.

Instead, he screamed out a warning before they were both swallowed by darkness.

Atemu's voice sounded beside him. "I guess we passed." He chuckled.

* * *

Weeks later; Atemu and Seto were joined by Jounouchiand Ryou. Bakura was no where in sight.

"Hey Yami," Jou slapped him on the back as a means of greeting. Then he turned towards Seto and growled.

For some reason, Jou and Seto had never set out on the right foot. -it might have had something to do with Seto beating the pup in a duel, then laughing about it, then bragging about it, and then calling him a mutt shortly afterwards. They didn't really know _what _set Jou off. So at every available opportunity the two got, they would go at each other's throats. Nevertheless, Seto had never looked happier then he had in the month he had spent with Jou. "Hey there rich boy," He barked. "Sleep well?"

Seto shot back with a smirk, "Very poorly. Your doggy snores were keeping me up all night. Was there a full moon?" Atemu laughed nervously, as much as he hated to agree with Seto; Jou really was capable of keeping them all up.

"I am not a mutt!" He screeched, nearly causing Atemu and Ryou to go deaf beside him.

"I didn't call you one, but it's comforting that you know your place in the world." Seto's smirk widened.

The two began to argue, obviously enjoying themselves and too absorbed with insulting each other to pay any attention to the other friends, currently wincing and groaning in agony. Their shouts were loud enough to make their eardrums bleed, so the two who were left out of the 'conversation' edged away.

"So, where did you say you were from?" Ryou asked 'Yami'.

"Uh..." He coughed under his breath. " Thebes..."

"So is it nice there?" The albino asked. The crimson-eyed man nodded, although having never been there himself before. "Oh yes. Very." A change in subject was in order, so he shifted it back to Ryou. "So where's Bakura?"

The albino's green eyes widened with confusion. "' Kura, He's right-..." He glanced to his empty side, apparently where the Missing-In-Action thief was supposed to be. A screech of anger behind them, followed by scuffling feet and curses distracted them. Ryou looked as though a granite rock had been dropped on his stomach.

Bakura came sprinting out of a tent, a wicked smile that was set off by an insane cackle. A small bundle with various gold objects poking out of the opening was nestled in his arms. A large group of men were chasing after the white-haired man; the thief however didn't even seem to mind one bit, seeming to actually enjoy a good chase. He laughed madly at their attempt to catch him.

"-Here..." Ryou finished lamely, looking at Atemu in embarrassment. He then turned to Bakura, rage filling his normally calm eyes. "Bakura, What are you doing!?" He yelled at the thief.

He received a pout from the culprit who ducked a bunch of outstretched hands. "Having a little bit of fun," And then Bakura took off, a crowd of people in pursuit.

Atemu smiled, "You really must care for him to put up with this amount of chaos on a day to day basis."

His answer was a soft chuckle. "If you think _this _is chaos, hand around, because ' Kura is just warming up." His green eyes softened. "But yes, I love the crazy fool." He looked at the thief's retreating back and something in his expression changed.

He was looking at Bakura with so much undisguised emotion, Atemu felt like he was intruding on something private.

Ryou, seemingly having snapped out of whatever state he had been in, blushed red with embarrassment. "I'm sorry Yami!" He apologized, "I didn't mean to... Uhm, that is..."

The Prince shook his head, "Don't apologize to me Ryou." It was bad enough that everyone bowed down at his feet when he was at the palace, he didn't even want to hear a single: 'I'm sorry' for a long time. "Your love isn't something you should try to suppress."

At these words, a deep ache had begun to make itself known in his chest. It made the tri-haired youth suddenly yearn for a taste of the love Ryou and Bakura shared -as chaotic as it may be.. His thoughts slowly drifted to his captain, the small light that looked so much like him, yet was so obviously different. Yugi was so untouched, so perfect.

So _beautiful_.

The prince thought slowly. 'Did I just describe my commanding officer as _beautiful_?' He had admitted to himself over and over again that he seemed to have some sort of connection to the younger version of himself. He knew he had a 'thing' for his captain. However, the 'thing' seemed to be growing with each passing moment, and it was a problem that disturbed the Prince greatly.

Nodding to himself, Atemu drew up the conclusion that his mind was most likely suffering from a heatstroke. Deciding that he probably needed to do something, he caught sight of the oasis off by the tent's borders. Agreeing that he could probably make it back to the campsite before Yugi came back with an announcement; he turned back to his companion...

...Only to find him once again distracted by his thoughts of Bakura.

"Uhm... Ryou, I'm going to go re-fill my water skin. Do you want me to re-fill yours?" He asked, trying to catch the albino's attention. Failing, he waved his hand in front of his green eyes. "Ryou, are you in there?"

He received no reply. The tri-haired youth scratched his cheek, frowning. He got a sudden idea and pulled his flask from his belt. "Ryou," He gestured with the water skin and made a walking motion with his fingers, then gestured again towards the oasis. "If regular speech won't work, then you'll have to deal with sign language."

The other teen seemed to get the point and handed Atemu the flask without complaint. Hell, Atemu wasn't even sure if Ryou was blinking anymore. So, edging away, he turned and broke into a full run towards the sanctuary in the desert.

* * *

Yugi sat, gazing listlessly at his reflection. Oddly enough, as he sat there staring at himself, he wasn't _really _looking at Yugi Mouto. No, he was looking at the man he had come to know as _Yami. _He was personally amazed that they both looked so similar. Did it make him narcissistic that he was beginning to have feelings for his counter-part?

He could only see crimson eyes staring back at him. The soldier was dominating his mind, and it wasn't something the usually carefree captain was used to. He smacked his hand against smooth, glassy surface; successfully breaking the image of Atemu in the pure water.

He shook his head; He didn't come here to the quiet Oasis to dwell on his thoughts of Atemu.

But his traitorous thoughts turned towards the young soldier once again. Unbeknownst to him, the very same soldier he was thinking about was hidden, crouched behind a large rock.

Atemu didn't want to eavesdrop on his captain, but he wasn't sure if he should come out from his hiding spot.

"Is it really my choice to decide whether or not my men are ready to go to war?"

Atemu had a sinking feeling that he was going to be sitting still for a while.

* * *

A tall man draped in fine silks looked out upon his army. One eye a soft shade of blue, the other a wicked shade of gold. Long teal hair fell on his shoulders like the cascading waves of the Persian sea. His flawless skin and high cheek-bones made him very handsome, a smile curved on his exquisite thin lips adding kindly to the effect. Yet despite his royal looks, not an ounce of life sparkled behind his miss-matched eyes. They were cold, devoid of any emotion other then cruelty.

He turned around, his hair splaying behind him dramatically and gazed coldly at his soldiers. They were mere pawns and peons. Not worth his time. Dartz smirked. Ants they may be, but they had served his purpose.

Bodies of Egypt's finest guard lay wasted before him. His eyes narrowed in twisted joy, the sight of the mangled corpses of those who had tried to defy him brought him happiness in the worst sort of way.

He made his way through the tide of what was once a mighty army, occasionally driving the sword strapped to his side through a body that still twitched.

A soft wheezing caught the evil man's attention. Dartz straightened up, pulling his long sword from a body. He used it as a walking stick as he strolled ever so slowly towards the noise.

His gold and blue eyes fell upon an old man. From the looks of it; he was the general of Egypt's army. Arrows jutted, broken and jagged into open places of the man's armor. There were some rather deep gashes in the man's chest and back. His face, painted crimson with the blood of his fellows and enemies.

"Ah, so you still have a few breathes of life in you?" He slowly smirked, "That can be easily remedied. Dartz raised his sword to prove his point. The dry gasps of the man remained even, as though he was not afraid of death. A smile appeared on the general's face.

Dartz frowned; he didn't like seeing his victims with a shred of hope before they died. "What's so amusing?" He snapped, pressing the tip of the sword roughly against the man's neck. A dark trickle of blood cascaded from the point. The sight of it seemed to please Dartz, because he soon released the pressure, his mood taking a happy turn. "Do you have any last words old man? I'll make sure to see you off." A thin smile crossed his lips.

His victim laughed, a laugh filled with mirth. "Dartz, in one fortnight your end will come!" His weakening hands lifted his helmet from his head with some effort. He sighed and let the warm Egyptian air play with his grey bangs. He chuckled and slipped a strange gold key into his helmet, away from Dartz's eyes. "You will suffer an eternity of nights at the hands of Osiris and Anubis, and you will be brutally ripped apart."

Dartz had heard enough, plunging his thin blade into the soft belly of the man. The man twitched with pain, agony ripping from his throat as the inserted blade twisted.

"Enough. I have no time to hear the babbling of an old man." He snorted and withdrew the blade, wiping the blood off. "There is no one left to defend Egypt, and I have no time to listen to the preaching of your gods." He spat at the old man, who flinched away. "See where your faith has taken you? Straight into the hands of death."

He strode away, stepping over the bodies with ease. "In the so-called fortnight of my demise, Egypt's lands will belong to me."

The old man, Solomon Mouto, was taking his last dying breathes. His lavender eyes sliding closed against the hot beating glare of Ra. "Yugi..." He whispered with his last breathe.

* * *

**(1) Yeah Yeah. Dad's are usually pansys when it comes to watching childbirth. :) I know mine was.**

Thanks to my Beta Moondalian, who kindly talked me out of trying to edit my own chapter! She once again saved my fruitless attempts at writing!

Please Read and Review! 


	6. Off to War

**Disclaimer: I don't own YuGiOh or the outline of Mulan. ******

**APOLOGY FOR NOT UPDATING! I haven't updated in two weeks, although I'm sure most of you don't really care. I had to read the Deathly Hallows, I mean. I HAD to. And then I had to pack for my move. **

**Enjoy the read, R&R please.**

* * *

Atemu was in pain. How long had he been crouched down next to the boulder that marked the spot of the oasis? His crimson eyes were half-lidded as he tried to fight fatigue. Ra beat down mercilessly upon his shoulders. The prince ached to remove his robe to relieve some of the suffocating warmth. 

Being rather close to passing out, he noted with some relief that Yugi had just gotten up. "I suppose I might as well get it over with." He heard the captain mutter. He waited behind his rock a few more seconds, listening to Yugi's sandals crunch against the sand before standing up.

Atemu stretched out his cramped muscles, brushing sand out of unpleasant areas. He cast worried eyes towards Yugi's receding back. He could feel his heart swelled when he thought of his Hikari's concern for his troops. He closed his eyes, they were at war and they were at a crucial time where the smallest lapse of concentration could result in death. Of course Yugi wouldn't want to needlessly rush into battle and risk all of their lives.

He splashed himself with water, not feeling the urge to dehydrate. Filling up his and Ryou's water skins, he turned to walk back to the camp. He had a feeling he was about to miss a very important meeting with his captain...

* * *

Yugi looked at his company in admiration, any doubts he possessed instantly evaporated. He could feel himself swell with pride. "You've all come along way in the weeks we've been together." He sighed, as though resigning to a fact. He met every one of his company member's eyes. Seeing their determination gave him the ability to continue, "I believe you are ready to fight alongside the main army now." 

As expected, stillness settled over the camp. Yugi pressed on. "Everyone here has passed through my training at least once." He gazed at them all. "I would trust each of you with my life." He said softly, his violet eyes sliding shut. "Trust me in my choice, because I swear to every single one of you, that _I won't leave a soldier behind_."

* * *

A week passed, and the soldiers were now marching to the village of Kul Elna to meet up with the main troops. The company was eager to finally reach Kul Elna so they could restock their supplies and rest. People who were from Kul Elna were very amiable and talkative, even a normally moody Bakura was in high spirits and terrorizing the rest of the camp. 

Atemu rode beside Yugi, smiling when the captain bend over the neck of his horse and cooed comforting words to it. "You're in a good mood." The prince grinned.

The two had separated from the rest of the company, trailing in the back to check for stragglers or anyone who might try and sneak up on them. Seto was in charge of leading the front; they soon learned that was a mistake, for Jounichi was constantly bothering and distracting him.

Even though they could hear the two of them arguing all the way from the back, Yugi decided to leave them together. It was just a far too hilarious show to miss. Jou and Seto screaming at each other had seemed to be a constant amusement to the company, so why deprive the men?

Yugi shot upwards, startled. "Y-Yes, I suppose I am?" He replied.

"What for?"

A grin lit up his beautiful face, his amethyst eyes shimmering with joy. It stunned Atemu, and for a moment his heart thudding painfully in his chest.

"I'll be seeing the general" Yugi replied, oblivious the havoc he was wreaking on Atemu's muscles. The prince felt his knees go weak -along with other various places, and he was unbelievably grateful he was riding on his Gazelle.

"The general?" He questioned, glad to have his brain functioning enough to engage Yugi in a conversation. He felt a soft pang go through him at the thought of Yugi wanting to see this person so badly. He worked to keep his face carefully impassive, although he was unable to keep the slight tone of jealousy out of his voice. "Why do you want to see him?"

Yugi gave him a weird look, and Atemu had to wonder if he had detected something was wrong. But amethyst eyes turned happily towards the Nile after a minute of scrutiny. "He's my grandpa." He replied vaguely.

Atemu reeled backwards, a wave of relief hitting him like the flooding river of life; along with a wave of embarrassment. "Your grandfather?" He echoed, shocked. "He's the general?"

Playful violet eyes turned back towards Atemu, "Weren't you listening Yami? _Yes, _My grandpa is the general!" He looked thoughtful, "Why do you think _I _of all people am Captain?" A wistful smile appeared on his face as his eyes darkened with a tinge of sadness. "I'm not fit to lead."

Hating himself for lending a hand in Yugi's mood taking a nose dive, he took Yugi's hand firmly in his own without his own knowledge. "Why do you think that?" He asked softly.

Yugi, who had not expected the sudden contact, turned an interesting shade of pink, "B-because I…" He stammered, an adorable blush rising on his cheeks.

Sensing his hesitation, Atemu squeezed Yugi's hand. "'Because' what…?" He asked softly. The blush never left Yugi's face, but he glanced shyly into Atemu's sincere eyes.

Apparently there was something in Atemu's eyes that spurred Yugi to continue because he sighed in defeat. "I'm not strong, fast, or even very smart." He whispered, losing all traces of his good mood.

"I'm just too..." He paused, "_Nice _for war…" He conceded. Yugi looked at Atemu fearfully, as though the latter would be angry at him.

Atemu remained silent for a moment, but didn't relinquish his hold on the captain. "No, 'nice' isn't a strong enough word to describe you." The ruby eyed teenager began, ignoring the stricken look Yugi gave him. "You don't need physical strength to lead an army, nor do you need speed and intelligence." He broke his gaze with the captain and looked up at the cloudless sky.

"You need spiritual strength to make tough choices; Choices that could maybe change the flow and ebb of lives." He was speaking to himself as much as he was speaking to Yugi. "It's not an easy job, and so far you've fulfilled it to the fullest you've been able to." He grasped his hand and looked sincerely into his captain's eyes. "I know I wouldn't be able to lead as you do."

Being the prince of a country and a future ruler, that seemed to dampen Atemu's spirits as well.

An oblivious Yugi blinked up at Atemu in disbelief, "So you say. But a leader needs to be able to gain his company's trust, and not just spout orders off left and right."

"And you have successfully managed to do that." Atemu countered.

This seemed to be news to Yugi, startled he asked why. Atemu graced him with a smile before responding, weighing his words carefully on his tongue before speaking. "Can't you tell for yourself?" He questioned.

"No, enlighten me."

Atemu entangled his tan fingers with Yugi's, he looked thoughtfully at him. "I thought it was obvious." He reached over with his free hand and brushed the smaller teenager's jaw, he noted with satisfaction the shiver he drew from him. "You are…" He brought Yugi's hand to his lips, keeping his eyes locked on amethyst orbs. Yugi felt like he had locked his gaze with that of a snake, unable to break free and under it's spell; however, he didn't seem to mind at all.

"What...What am I?" He had trouble keeping his voice level, Atemu's crimson eyes hypnotizing him.

The princes breathed out of his mouth, letting his breath play over Yugi's delicate skin. "...Compassionate." The captain could feel Atemu's sculpted lips curve into a smile against his hand, fighting a losing battle against a blush that seemed to be becoming engraved on his skin. "...Kind..." Atemu's other hand was drawing distracting circles on the captain's neck now. "...Caring..." A wicked glint appeared in Atemu's eyes. "...And about to be pushed off your horse!"

With a startled yelp, Yugi found himself catapulted into the air by a grinning Atemu. "Yami!" He screamed, finding that the man he was directing his anger towards had jumped off his own gazelle to knock Yugi off his -meaning that the two were now tumbling to the ground.

Although the take off had left the captain a little bit breathless, when they landed, he found himself safely caged in Atemu's arms. He was barely even jostled. Yugi couldn't help but grin despite himself. "Well that was interesting."

The prince gave him a smile and them both up, Yugi sitting cross-legged in Atemu's lap. "Of course," He said simply, "Shame on you captain, how you let yourself could be surprised like that."

Yugi looked up and pouted, "I trust you!" He defended, "I knew you weren't going to hurt me!"

At these words, a calm sense of pleasure rushed through Atemu. It was as though a cleansing wave had crashed down on him, washing away all the guilt, stress, and lies he had told to get where he was now.

Yet at the same time, he felt a niggling sensation beginning to make itself known in the back of his mind.

It was like a warning sign, flashing red.

Atemu shook his head and stood up, Yugi still cradled in his arms. Crimson eyes trailed over the small form, marveling at his beauty. He was an angel, Atemu noted.

Carefully, he released his hold feeling a bit more then breathless. It didn't help that all his blood seemed to have rushed either to his head or to his feet. He forced a calm smile, trying to ignore his sudden heat. "Touché captain, Touché..."

Yugi grinned, turning back towards his disgruntled stead. Apparently, it didn't take too kindly to its rider being forcibly knocked off while it was in motion. Atemu couldn't really blame the horse, deciding that he probably wouldn't like Yugi being taken away from him in that fashion either.

Yugi put his hands on his horse's mane, calming it almost instantly. "Sorry boy, Yami just wanted to play rough." He turned towards Atemu, "Isn't that right?" He asked innocently.

The prince flushed at the double meaning, there was no doubt questioning the heat in his nether regions _now_. He not trusting himself to speak; his throat was too dry anyway.

A mischievous glint was now evident in Yugi's large bambi eyes, "C'mon" He giggled, "We can't guard the rear if we're all the way in the back."

Atemu mentally groaned, mounting back on his Gazelle and following after a wickedly laughing Yugi.

He hated double meanings.

* * *

Swords clashed and whistled through the air. Bakura had long since discarded his dark burgundy robe, opting instead to fight shirtless. He bared his sharp canines in a semblance of an insane grin. "Is that all you've got?" He sneered at his opponent, applying pressure to their locked blades. 

Ryou broke away, whipping his sword in an arc towards the white-haired albino. "Shut up!" He snapped, twisting his body to follow through with his attack.

The wicked grin fell from Bakura's face when Ryou's attack followed through, knocking his sword to the ground. The albino stumbled backwards, falling to the ground a short distance from his weapon.

"You were saying?" Ryou grinned, pointing the blade at Bakura's neck. His face grew serious. "I believe it's time for you to give up." He said gleefully.

Bakura's red eyes glinted, "And why would I go ahead and do that?" Bracing his body with his hand, he struck out with his leg, kicking sand into Ryou's eyes.

The latter yelped and fell back, hand rubbing furiously at his eyes, "Bakura" He roared, "You asshole!!!"

"All's fair in love and war!" The albino taunted, leaping to his feet and retrieving his sword. Without preamble, he leapt forward, his sword whistling through the hot air. Ryou barely had enough time to raise his sword to block.

Blinded by sand, it was only seconds later when Ryou was disarmed by Bakura. The latter danced around him until he was right in front of his counter-part.

When Ryou had finally rubbed away the last remnants of the sand, the albino found his back planted firmly against the sand with his own sword point at his neck. Bakura was at the end of it, a wide grin adorning his face.

It was night time, and the company had settled down at an Oasis for the night. Wanting to stay sharp and alert, Bakura had dragged a very disgruntled Ryou out of bed to spar. It was thanks to this, that the normally tame version of the albino was spitting fire and curses. They would reach Kul Elna in the morning, and Ryou really wasn't in the mood to be a complete sore and irritable mess when they went to see their families.

"Bakura..." He growled warningly. His boyfriend ignored him and settled into his role of being the 'victor'.

"Now what was it that you said when we were in reverse positions?" He mocked, "I believe it was along the lines of 'I believe it's time for you to give up!'" He quoted with a smirk.

Ryou glared, "You cheat!" He retorted, ignoring the weapon pointed close to his neck, "You kicked sand in my eyes!"

"Touch luck Hikari," Bakura said flippantly, "We're going to war, I don't think the enemy is going to wait for you to finish dusting sand from your crotch before attempting to skewer you."

He then tossed Ryou's sword by his side and proceeded to rub his nether regions. "Ra damned itch, I'm defiantly going to get a rash down there." He cursed, sheathing is own sword while attempting to dislodge what appeared to be a pound of sand from his kilt.

"Yes, I'm aware." Ryou said impatiently, "But that doesn't change the fact that you threw sand in my eyes."

"Be grateful I didn't throw sand in your 'special place'" Bakura grumped, patting his ass.  
Before Ryou could open his mouth to argue, the darker albino sent him a half-heated glare, "Allow me to clarify one thing to you." He interrupted.

Ryou blinked and waited.

Bakura rolled his eyes, "For the sake of Osiris...We're going to _war_ Ryou." This didn't seem to be setting any light bulbs off in the latter's head, so Bakura fished out a pocket knife and made himself comfortable on a rock.

He proceeded to clean his nails with the blade and sighed. "When we start fighting, we'll have one basic strategy to follow."

When he didn't, Bakura cleared his throat pointedly. Catching on, the Hikari rolled his eyes. "Wand what would that strategy be?" He asked.

Bakura grinned wolfishly. "I thought you'd never ask!" He exclaimed. He pulled his light onto his lap, wrapping his arms firmly around his waist, "It's the 'kill-whoever-gets-in-the-way-and-hope-it-isn't-an-ally' strategy." He said happily.

Ryou mimicked Bakura's earlier motion and rolled his eyes again. "I love the name you came up with; it just rolls off the tongue." He fixed his red-eyed counter part with a skeptical look, "But I'm not quite sure I understand it."

"Really," Bakura raised an eyebrow, "I could have sworn it was pretty self-explanatory." He said in such a tone that questioned Ryou's intellect.

This earned him a well deserved smack.

Bakura slide the knife he was using back into its sheathe by his side so he could better use his hands to run them through Ryou's snowy hair. "What is it that you don't understand?" He asked with slight irritation. One thing Bakura wasn't known for was his patience.

"What does that have to do with you kicking sand in my eyes?" He demanded.

The look he gave Bakura almost made the dark-side scream with maniacal laughter, but he wisely bit his tongue and thought for once before answering.

Bakura had long since perfected the art of fighting after being in more life-or-death situations, but Ryou having been in some of the fairer skirmishes wouldn't be able to understand Bakura's strategy.

"Oh yeah," He mumbled, "I thought that was pretty obvious too."

Ryou pouted, unleashing all of his devastating cuteness on Bakura. The albino fought its power for a second before his will power tore like a wet-paper-bag.

"When you're in a situation where you have to fight for your life, playing fair becomes a myth, and playing dirty becomes considerably easier." He clarified, resting his head on top of Ryou's. He waited a beat before adding, "How're your eyes?"

"Fine." Ryou lied, snuggling against the older.

Bakura kissed his light's eyelids as though sensing Ryou's attempt at deception. He pushed his Hikari off his lap and gave him a skeptical look. "Go wash 'em out." He ordered gruffly, relinquishing his hold on Ryou.

The green-eyed boy smiled apologetically and moved away to the small oasis they had stopped at.

As soon as Ryou was out of eyesight, the grin that had been plastered on the darker albino's face fell away with the absence of his light.

The threat that his love's life would be in danger constantly put Bakura in a bad mood. He had no wish to see Ryou die. Yet it was possible with the upcoming battle with Dartz that loomed upon them.

As sigh escaped him as he swore to himself, maybe he could convince Ryou to stay back in Kul Elna when they reached the village in the morning. That was the idea he had been entertaining since he had heard they would be visiting their hometown.

Ryou would hate him for even suggesting the idea, but Bakura was sure Ryou would eventually get over it.

He would die before he allowed a single drop of Ryou's blood soak into the dry sand.

He just wanted him safe.

* * *

The next morning the company headed out on schedule. It was a fine day, and everything seemed to be going fine. Jounichi swiveled his head back and forth and gazed at the sky, slight wispy clouds misted across the sky, blocking out some of Ra's heat. 

A grin traced across Jounichi's face, despite the fact that they were marching to war, today would be filed under the category of 'good days'. Today Bakura wasn't creating chaos, even conducting civil conversations with the soldiers.

If Jounichi's mood had been slightly diminished, he would have found that fact down right scary, but not even Bakura's niceness couldn't shake his good mood.

Even Seto had been polite to him today; only having called him 'Mutt' three times that morning –For Seto that was an amazing feat.

Jounichi, having taken to whistling a merry tune, marched behind Seto who cast him an annoyed look.

"Can you quit with the dog calls mutt?" He snapped, although not heated.

Oh well, make that four times.

But the blond was in such a good mood, he stopped, even giving Seto a wide grin. The high priest was startled at Jounichi's reaction, expecting the honey-eyed boy to scream at him or at least call him a name.

The azure eyed teenager gazed at the sky, deciding that since the apocalypse was now upon them, he might as well do some lasts minute praying to the gods.

Jounichi's grin grew upon finding that he successfully freaked the normally cold-blooded soldier out. This day couldn't possibly get even better!

His brown eyes roamed the company, taking in all the faces that had grown on him. Sure, there were a few jerks, like a big guy called Ryushou who seemed to have it in for a certain tri-haired prince. But even the beometh gave Jou the warm and fuzzes right about now. His eyes landed on his best friend/captain, and almost broke his face from a grin that seemed to split his face in half –Seto could be seen edging away.

There was his little buddy, side by side with 'Yami'. He noted with some badly hidden glee, that they seemed to be getting on very well. Yugi had been by himself for such a long time, Jounichi wasn't sure he could pin-point the last time he had seen his little friend with anyone other then his friends.

The blond himself had dabbled around in the 'dating' area, messing around with a few men and women, finding himself to lean more towards the aforementioned. He had yet to find that 'special someone', but there had been a certain blue-eyed smart mouth that seemed to be plaguing his thoughts lately.

He was so happy; he found his lips whistling the same merry tune Seto had told him to stop. This time the brunette didn't even bother; Jou was too far gone in his world of happiness to notice him yelling anyway.

He trained his eyes on a laughing Yugi, smiling a bit softer upon seeing his friend so happy. He hadn't seen the tri-haired boy laugh this much since his parents passed away. Jou noted with some satisfaction that Atemu seemed to be the reason for Yugi's improved mood over these few weeks.

Looking closer, the blond noticed the blush that stained Yugi's chubby cheeks. He fought the urge to whoop with delight. The two tri-haired teenagers were in love with each other. From a distance it was so painfully obvious, Jou felt like he was going to projectile vomit lovey-dovey goodness all over a certain high priest in front of him.

If Jounichi hadn't been an expert at holding down his food, he might've actually tried it. But not wanting to be the start to another inevitable fight, the blond decided against it. He much preferred Seto _not _yelling at him on this fine day.

He glanced back up at the sky; the wispy clouds that were covering the company seemed to be a bit gray –maybe even blackish. Jounichi exclaimed with glee, "Look Seto! It may rain!" He pointed up at the sky childishly, as though Seto didn't know where rain came from.

The high priest's eyes found their way to where Jounichi was pointing.

"Rain...Impossible," He said disbelievingly, blue eyes rested on the dark haze hanging in the air and widened. "Those aren't clouds" He said irritably. "Those are smoke plumes."

Confused and unbelieving, Jounichi looked up at the clouds that he had thought were giving them shelter from Ra's heat. "They are?" His eyes traveled down the path of the smoke and stopped short. "They're coming from the direction of-..." He cut himself off, realization marring across his features.

Seto, following his gaze, also seemed to come across the same thought Jounichi had. In a strangled voice, he completed the sentence Jou could not. "...-Kul Elna."

* * *

The company reached the ruins of what was once the proud village of Kul Elna quickly. 

Most of the village had been burned to the ground, proving the fire had been going on for a couple of weeks at most.

Yugi dismounted from his stead and got his game face on. "Search for survivors." He ordered, "Fan out."

Dread was filling his stomach, this village was supposed to be a check point spot. His grandfather was supposed to be here to _stop _Dartz from destroying Kul Elna.

And yet, here it is. Burned to the ground, with seemingly no survivors. He could hear Bakura moving impossibly heavy pillars, searching most likely in vain for his family. Ryou could be heard doing the same, frantically calling out several names.

"Where are you two going?" He heard Seto voice behind him.

Atemu's deep baritone was further away, and Yugi realized he was talking to him and Jounichi, because the latter's voice soon carried to him from even further. "We're just checkin' over da ridge."

"There may be scouts hidden there." Atemu clarified from a distance. Yugi felt himself nod.

In reality he felt totally detached from his body. His mind was numb, but his body was walking around and giving orders. It was a peculiar sensation.

Moments passed with no sign of life. Ryou approached him with a haunted expression on his face. "There are no survivors, captain." He said softly. Yugi looked at the albino brokenly; he didn't know how he could help him. Gently he hugged Ryou.

It was the best comfort he could give, and Ryou gladly accepted it. "I don't get it." Yugi whispered to him, "My grandfather was supposed to be here with the troops."

And no sooner did the words leave his mouth, a frightened shout echoed from the ridge where Atemu and Jounichi had disappeared over.

Quickly, Yugi, Seto, Ryou and Bakura ran to the sound. There was Atemu and Jou, kneeling on top of the ridge, both pale and shaking.

"Yami, Jou." Seto kneeled beside the latter. "What's wrong?"

Neither replied, but slowly, Atemu raised his crimson eyes to meet Yugi. "The General..." He whispered.

And then Jounichi pulled out something that made the captain's blood run cold.

His grandfather's helmet.

* * *

**I must apologize once again for not updating for TWO weeks! Yes, I know I need to be slapped in the face! Please feel free to slap me in the face if it makes you feel any better!  
**

**(Stares blankly at fic) Can you believe it? The end of this fic is in sight. I can't believe I'm so close to finishing, it's almost unnerving. ******

**Oh! And I need to apologize for the length of this chapter. It was really hard to write. In all honesty, it was meant to be merged with the next chapter, but since that chapter took FOREVER to write, I decided to split them in two. **

**I personally loved Ryou and Bakura's fight. That fight happened with me before -minus the swords-, and so did the argument. (You threw sand in my eyes you **_asshole_**!) Can you guess who was the one sand got thrown in her eyes? Yup, that was me. :) **

_This chapter is unedited. I know Moondalian is going to kill me whenever she sees this..._


	7. Battle and Death

**Disclaimer: I don't own YuGiOh or my vague Mulan outline **

**Read and Review**

**

* * *

**Yugi silently moved away from his company, cradling his grandfather's helmet in his arms as though it was a sick baby. Amethyst eyes were like stones as the normally bouncy captain walked rigidly away, statue-like. 

He stepped over the mounds of bodies that littered the ground. "Where is he?" He heard himself ask flatly.

He didn't want to see his grandfather's body. Oh no, he didn't.

But out of some sort of morbid desire, he had to make sure for himself. As much as he trusted his best friend and Atemu, he couldn't just take their word for it.

_'Anubis has left his mark here,' _Yugi noted dimly, aware that his friends were staring at him in concern. He ignored them and walked jerkily towards Atemu.

His face looked unusually stoic, crimson eyes hard rubies. If Yugi hadn't known better, he would have thought he was unfazed by the death that surrounded them.

But he knew better.

The color seemed to have drained from the soldier's face, and his hands were balled into tight fists by his side. They trembled.

But for what reason did his hands shake? Was he angry? Scared? Nervous? Or was he feeling as numb as Yugi was? He found he didn't care at the moment, "Show me." He ordered.

Atemu jerked his head, as if in a nod and led the way. There was nothing he could say to his captain; there was nothing to _be _said. He most certainly couldn't go ahead and say 'Oh, I just went and found your dead grandfather's body! That's okay right?'

He didn't think so.

Yugi seemed to be in his own world. Deadened to the outside world, and screaming on the inside.

They came across a small clearing, empty of all bodies except one. Amethyst eyes widened upon sight, and Yugi felt his self-inflicted shock fade, giving way to the anguish he'd kept inside.

His grandfather's body, mangled and mutilated almost beyond the point of recognition lay before him. He shuddered, feeling tears prick at the corners of his eyes. He looked away, refusing to gaze at his grandfather's body. any longer

Yugi tried to push the image of the man he had come to know as a father's dead corpse out of his thoughts. The vision would not be banished so easily, staying engraved in his mind's eye.

He didn't want the image of the torn body to be his last memory of his grandfather. But once again, with morbid curiosity; he had to be sure.

Lifeless violet eyes stared out from gray lightening shaped bangs. The image blurred because of his tears, and he gently placed his hands on the sides of the dead man's face. The helmet lay by his side.

Slowly, almost warmly, Yugi pressed his thumbs against the old man's eyelids.

And closed them.

He ignored his friend, staring at him with renewed concern.

Yugi drew his sword.

Gripping the blade tightly in his hand, he drove it deep into a dry patch of the earth. Apparently, the gods had pitied him enough to drive away the sand. Silently, he placed his grandpa's helmet on the hilt and arranged it so it would face the setting sun proudly.

It had been his favorite time of day.

A single crystalline tear slide down Yugi's pale cheek, making a soft rivulet to his chin. Unable to harden his heart any longer, the young captain broke down in soft sobs.

He didn't care that he was in front of his friends, nor did he care about being strong. Right now he was concentrating on the one person he had known as a mentor and a father: Dead. Forever gone. Never again would Solomon Mouto be able to offer his sage advice to his grandson.

He made a move to wipe his tears away angrily, but a tan hand caught his arm. Atemu gazed down at the broken form of the man he had grown to adore and love.

He brushed his tear-stained cheeks with his thumb, "Let it out Little On." He soothed, taking the small frame in his arms. "It is alright to grieve."

The captain didn't need to be told twice.

And grieve he did.

Yugi let it all out, feeling momentarily safe from the world in Atemu's arms. Tucked in the warm embrace of the prince, he cried his soul out onto the older's chest.

After a while, the only sound that escaped the younger were a few hiccups coming from swollen lips. His lips seemed all the more kissable and luscious, and Atemu had to fight his desire to swoop down upon the grieving youth, noting that this wasn't the time, nor the place for acts such as that. He rocked Yugi back and forth, rubbing circles in his back to soothe the youth.

Yugi sighed in a weird sort of content, clinging to his yami like he was a life-line cast out to him while he was drowning in the rapids of the Nile. He drew comfort from the protective being holding him; enough to finally stand up and be strong for his troops.

Tired amethyst eyes seemed to shimmer with a new sort of life. He wasn't healed; no he was far from being fine. But for now, he was alright. He had no other choice. He clutched tightly to Atemu's hand, grateful that the older didn't draw away from him now that he was done bawling on his tunic. He almost smiled when he thought Atemu might care for his well being.

He noted his friends had taken off, probably choosing to give him a private moment to regain himself and possibly avoid further torment. Yugi turned back to his grandfather –Atemu noted that the captain's grip tightened considerably when he did so - and bowed. "Safe passage Grandfather" He said softly. Gently, he untangled his fingers from Atemu, allowing the soldier to pay homage to the general he never knew.

Upon reaching the top of the ridge, Yugi – by himself, surveyed the scene.

Jou looked traumatized, not even flinching when Seto drew him into an uncharacteristically tender hug. The blonde buried his face into the taller teenager's broad shoulder, a soft whimper escaped from his lips. Yugi knew Jou was feeling pain for Solomon's death as well; he had been like a mentor and father to the blonde as well.

The high priest, having originally felt no desire to join the army, felt awash with guilt, shock and anger. He had been unaware of the true horrors of war until this very moment. True, he had read about it, he had even heard about it in taverns and on the streets; but not once had he ever imagined this feeling of terror. This was complete devastation. Kul Elna had suffered greatly. Seeing reality strike home like this gave him renewed vigor; now he was eager to have a shot at Dartz himself.

He was glad he was fighting with Atemu now; not just to protect the headstrong prince, but to help his country.

'_So this is true faith.' _He thought detachedly. He absently stroked Jou's straw colored hair, as though comforting a scolded puppy.

Yet, scared as those two soldiers both felt, it didn't amount to the scale of torment Ryou and Bakura were going through.

The smaller had broken down into fitful sobs while his darker-side held him, stony faced. The haunted expression etched on the albino's face betrayed one strong emotion: the thirst for revenge.

Bakura would not stop until Dartz was killed, and his head was mounted on his wall.

None of them would.

Yugi straightened his shoulders and gazed at his men: Some shattered, many broken, all confused. Many had known people from Kul Elna: Most had family there. The comfort Atemu had given him lend him strength. He looked at each soul in turn and gave his first real order.

"Pack up men; we're heading through the Valley of the Kings." He said softly, "We are the only hope for the pharaoh."

Watching from the side of General Mouto's body, Atemu felt an odd sensation surge through his stomach at the thought of his father in danger. Crimson eyes took in the battered remains that used to be Kul Elna: It was the destruction Dartz was capable of.

He growled and swore Dartz would not lay a hand on his father.

"Move out." Yugi commanded. The captain, now General, mounted his horse. "We're burning daylight."

Atemu took a few steps towards the company and his Gazelle before stopping.

A cold wind was brushing against his neck, trying to get his attention. He blinked and whirled around, shocked. Cool air in the desert? When Ra was still so high in the sky? It was impossible.

Another blast of cold air came forth, this time smacking the prince in the face. Solomon Mouto's helmet whistled against the wind for a moment before toppling into the softer sand.

Surprised, Atemu picked it up to rest it back on Yugi's sword when something caught his eye. Golden light shone on the inside of the helm, causing the prince to shield his eyes from it. "What the-?" Atemu reached a hand into the headgear and withdrew something odd: An Ankh shaped key.

Realization hit home like a ton of granite, This was the Millennium Key!

But why had Solomon had it? Atemu closed his eyes. He was probably one of his father's sacred priests.

He bowed his head in respect that increased ten-fold. Not only had he done a marvelous job of raising Yugi with no support from others, he had earned his own father's trust. It was a very high honor. Solomon Mouto was truly a respectable man.

A tanned hand curved around the key. The Ankh meant 'Life,' Crimson eyes opened. He swore on the Millennium Key that he would stop Dartz. No more lives would be taken by this man's madness.

Fluidly, he replaced the helmet on the sword and wished the old man a safe passage to the next life.

He had a war to fight.

* * *

Yugi rode next to Atemu in silence. The older was guiding his Gazelle through some of the calmer parts of the Nile. She was carrying a lot of the at-ready shadow cannons and Atemu was making sure she didn't jostle them or get them wet. 

"Thank you." The younger said. Those two simple words that seemed to weigh heavily upon Yugi.

Atemu didn't break stride, "There's nothing to thank me for." He replied kindly, "I will always protect your life." His crimson eyes twinkled mischievously, "Even from yourself."

Yugi blushed, allowing a comfortable silence to envelope the two. Even now as he was riding close enough to touch silken skin, he didn't know what his relationship with the man he called 'Yami' was. Sometimes – most of the time, Yugi would lie awake in bed and think of his dark. If Yugi was light, and Atemu was darkness, didn't that mean they belonged together?

They were like two sides of a coin, day and night.

But did he want to be together with Atemu?

His heart most certainly seemed to think so.

When it fluttered with unquenched happiness at the mere thought of being together with his shadowed half, that's when he realized his initial problem. He was in love – and it only took him six chapters to figure it out.

It was an odd thing to be thinking about when he should have been grieving over his deceased grandfather; yet there were no boundaries that were known when it came to matchmaking.

His heart soared, he felt truly happy for the first time in a while. But dread soon grounded his flying heart. A quiver of fear coursed through him. _'What if Yami doesn't feel the same way?' _He thought to himself.

Once again he felt himself almost laughing at himself for thinking like this when he should be preparing a war strategy against Dartz.

The sound of frantic splashing caught his attention, drawing it away from his war of hearts.

Gazelle's eyes were wide and rolling as Atemu attempted to console her. "Something's spooked her." He clarified to Yugi. "Sh, it's okay girl." He cooed, stroking her muzzle. She was plainly terrified, ignoring Atemu's hand trying to calming her.

She jolted to the side, loosening one of the canons.

Atemu and Yugi's eyes both widened simultaneously, watching as one canon seemed to fall from the others in slow motion. It touched the ground, the still hot sand of the day igniting its fuse.

The two look-alikes stared numbly at the canon as it spiraled through the sky.

Then it exploded with a deafening crack. The sound reverberated off of the pyramids and temples that surrounded them.

And all hell broke loose.

"They know our position!" Yugi shouted, warning the soldiers. There really was no point keeping his voice down at this point. His warning came too late. He was shot from his horse, an arrow sticking out of his shoulder. He pried it out just as a volley of arrows descended upon the company from the high cliff walls. "Get out of range!" Yugi yelled. He got up quickly and started leading his horse away with Atemu's Gazelle. "We need to reach higher ground." He panted.

Atemu completely agreed, but the chances of gaining the higher ground from the already situated army would be impossible. They were boxed in the valley by two large cliff faces. Their only shelter would be from the temples that were already in the valley, and they wouldn't last long.

Apparently though, the enemy had realized that.

They also seemed to realize that regular arrows were spectacularly ineffective at such a long range. Their next volley proved they learned from their mistakes though. For these arrows were alit with flame.

The found an easy target: Atemu.

At the moment he was completely defenseless, trying to pull a frightened Gazelle to safety. The cannons she had strapped to her back were slowing her down, and she didn't seem to want to go anywhere Atemu was leading her.

The burning arrows pierced through the cloth they had draped over the shadow bombs, soon setting the whole cart ablaze.

"Damn it" Atemu cursed, wrapping his free hand around Gazelle's reigns to steady her.

"Save the cannons!" Yugi hollered somewhere from behind him. Almost immediately, a long rescue line had formed, each person carrying a cannon to safety. But despite their efforts, the fire was already out of control, and Atemu had no choice but to abandon the cannons and cut Gazelle free.

She gratefully allowed her master to climb on her back and began to run just as the carriage exploded.

Soon, it was a battle between arrows and cannons. Each positioned at opposite sides of the valley. The Libyans still had the advantage of height, but every once in a while, when a bomb would connect to the enemy's front, the result was massive damage. This went on for a while, each side trying to sneak a bomb or an arrow into range.

When Jou fired the second to last bomb in the Libyans' direction, all became still.

Seto frowned and crouched beside the blonde. He noticed his puppy looking a bit tense, a growl of defiance hiding the splash of fear behind the honey eyes. As strong as the mutt tried to look, it didn't hide the scared tremor that shook his hands.

"It'll be alright" Seto said curtly. Jounichi stared at him in disbelief, a look the high priest ignored. "I won't let you get killed." He clarified. His voice held the seal of a promise, and he meant every word.

If he were to die here, he swore to every god alive that the blonde would make it out alive.

Jou didn't say anything, but visibly his shaking stopped.

Bakura held the last cannon being the trigger happy fool that he was. He planned on making the last shot count, and as far as he was concerned, he had the best aim around –He obviously wasn't counting Atemu.

His russet eyes squinted against the darkening light. Heat waves rolled off the hot limestone of the valley, quickly cooling as the day began to cross into night. Was it just him, or was the heat making him sees things? His tan brow furrowed. "Hey Ryou, look at that." Bakura jerked his head towards the gas like heat. Black shadows were beginning to emerge.

Ryou's green eyes widened in shock, proving to the darker albino that he wasn't seeing a trick of the light, "What is it?" His hikari whispered.

Bakura readied the last cannon. "The enemy," He said simply.

A long black line of soldiers made themselves known to the last remnants of Egypt's army. Dartz's army was large and vast, making Yugi's company look scraggly and scarce. In the center, with long teal hair braided and tied to his knees was the evil man who had started all the madness: Dartz.

With a fearful battle cry, he rode down the steep valley, thousands of soldiers filing in after him.

"Kill them!" He cried. Each of the soldiers possessed a green star, seemingly curve onto each of their foreheads. It seemed to possess them.

Off to his right, he heard Yugi telling the men if they should die, it would be with honor. He turned to Bakura, "Aim for Dartz." The tan albino nodded, having already decided that was where he was going to shoot. He was going to have his revenge.

Amethyst eyes turned to crimson for the support that was always there for him. However, this time they were distracted. He gazed instead at his sword, then up at the sky. It was a bit comical looking as Atemu repeat this process, a strange look crossing his handsome features.

Then quite suddenly, he was elbowing a snarling Bakura out of the way and stealing his cannon. "Yami!" Yugi yelled, watching Atemu jump from their sheltered area on a temple.

The rebellious man took off next to the swirling rapids of the Nile, his captain giving chase. "Yami! Get back here!" Yugi hollered.

But he wasn't listening.

He was no longer Yami the soldier, but Atemu the prince of Egypt, and he was doing the one thing that would save his country.

The reckless youth clutched at the Millennium Key hidden under his clothes and invoked its power. He allowed himself to channel his shadow magic into the stolen cannon, and took careful aim. If he had a shred of sanity, this plan of his probably wouldn't work, but since he had dubbed himself 'insane' the odds of success were very good.

With the key, he slid his eyes shut and reached into the depths of his shadow magic. With the help of the Ankh, he was allowed to give the force of the cannon the strength of five. Atemu rested the key on the ground, his heart pounding and feeling drained.

Dartz was heading towards him, sword extended and ready to do some serious injury to the prince.

Frightened, Atemu cast ruby eyes behind him to see how far Ra was to setting. '_Only Minutes now.' _He thought desperately. He caught sight of Yugi and mentally groaned, he was about to put his captain in serious danger.

He could hear Yugi's terrified cries as Dartz approached. Atemu snapped his fingers, and lit the fuse with the little shadow magic he had left.

The cannon spiraled off, inches from Dartz's shocked face.

Atemu could hear Bakura yell in the distance. "How the HELL did you miss?!"

He smirked as the cannon hit its mark: a temple close by Dartz's army. "No Bakura." He said softly, his eyes focused on the limestone that began to crumble with the force of the shadows embedded in the bomb. "I never miss."

Dartz followed his gaze, his mismatched eyes widening in shock, "You!" He snarled, turning the Atemu in anger. A rock slide had started, raining down upon the Libyan army slightly at first, before crushing the mighty army. Dartz watched as his numbers fell, and he snarled at Atemu. He brought his sword down quickly, seeking vengeance.

He sliced the surprised teenager diagonally across his chest. Atemu let out a cry of pain before turning around and sprinting back towards Yugi.

The sun set.

And now was phase two of his plan.

He reached Yugi in seconds, but he wasn't fast enough.

The Nile began to flood.

Atemu was hoping to avoid being caught under currents with a bunch of angry Libyans. He grabbed the Captains surprised hand around the wrist and took off like a bat out of hell.

They weren't quick enough though, not even making it halfway back to their temple before the Nile began to flood.

Dartz, trying to beat the rockslide, cursed when he got caught in the rapids. He screamed as he went under, his hand reaching for anything before the Nile snatched him away from the open air.

Gazelle, seeing her master in trouble, broke her chains and leaped forward. The mythical beast bounded towards Atemu, slowing down enough to allow the prince to swing onto her back. He didn't bother getting settled before reaching a hand out to Yugi, just as the Nile crashed over their heads. Yugi's hand was ripped from Atemu's, the rapids carrying away the small boy.

Gazelle broke the surface, swimming powerfully against the current. Atemu looked around him quickly, spotting Yugi within seconds. The teenager was struggling to stay afloat, fighting against the current with all this strength.

"Yugi!" The prince shouted, directing Gazelle. His wound stung, but desire to save his aibou numbed the pain. If his love died, the world would be forever in darkness, and then he'd have little reason for anything else anymore. Atemu slipped sideways off Gazelle, cutting through the water towards Yugi swiftly.

"Yami..?" The small light asked sleepily.

"Yes, it's me Little One." He replied, pushing his small captain onto Gazelle's back. He soon clambered on himself; hugging Yugi's shaking form to his chest. Atemu looked around frantically, looking for another way to solid ground.

Crimson eyes widened as he saw their danger. The rapids were carrying them to the stone wall of the valley.

Straight into the jagged peaks.

**

* * *

Okay, I have a few things to explain, so please bear with me. **

**In the beginning of the fic, Grandpa and Yugi were going over the strategy. He had wanted to reach the village of Kul Elna before the Nile flooded, because then it would have been harder to travel. In Egypt, the Nile floods once a year, and Grandpa had a general idea of when it would flood: Three fortnights. (It tweaked a bit of information here since I'm not sure if the Valley of the Kings was built near the Nile).**

**Well, in a previous chapter, I mentioned from Aknaunkanon's point of view, that two fortnights had passed since Atemu and Seto's disappearence. So that leaves roughly a little less then two weeks. Take into account the marching time, with the addition of the troop's training, and we have three fortnights. **

**Knowing when the flood was coming seemed like something that would be common knowledge**


	8. Discovery and Goodbyes

**((Sitting in the corner with a clipboard in hand)) I'm re-writing the chapters because it's too easy to guess what's going to happen. So! I'm twisting the chapters around near the end of the fanfic. Let's try to make this less predictable!**

**By the way, the thing Atemu rides is Gazelle the Mythical beast. Why? Because I damn well felt like it. Enjoy.**

Disclaimer: I don't own YuGiOh or the vague Mulanish plot line.  
-

Tan fingers curled around Gazelle's wet fur securely, the others gripping their precious bundle. Yugi was slipping from his lap and Atemu cursed, trying to pull the boy's legs out of the water so they wouldn't be caught by the rapids. It was hard with one hand, but he somehow managed. Ruby eyes assessed the boy, absently pulling a wet golden lock from his commander's eyes. Blood was lingering on the side of his pale cheek, mixing in with his hair, giving his bangs an odd sort of brazen look.

'_Some of the debris must have hit head as he tried to swim towards Gazelle' _Atemu thought, once again cursing himself for not thinking his plan through. He had never meant for Yugi to be dragged into this... Well, to put it bluntly, suicidal plan.

Atemu looked for an escape, not yet ruling out divine intervention. "Come on Atemu; use that brain of yours..." He muttered, "What good is it if you can't use it in situations like this?" And then it struck him.

Gazelle was rapidly beginning to lose her strength, having to have carried her own weight doubled with Atemu and Yugi's; slight as they may be; Gazelle was fighting against the currents, and losing.

Yet... A strange thought occurred to the prince. What if it was just _Yugi _riding on Gazelle? Surely the beast would be able to support his weight alone. Atemu swallowed a lump in his throat; he couldn't pass on to the afterlife if he had known he was responsible for his aibou's death. _Yugi cannot die! _He thought savagely.

Yet if he didn't do something soon, they would inevitably die; all Atemu could do for now, was urge his Gazelle forwards. Death loomed inches closer.

Seto stood up from his safe spot quickly, his natural –and more reckless drive to protect his liege forced all forms of rational thought out the window in less then a mille-second. He was about to do something very crazy, and _very stupid. _

He grabbed a thick rope from his pack and began tying it around his waist. He turned wordlessly; glad for once no one seemed to be paying attention to him. Just as he was prepared to go diving into the white-capped water, a warm hand stopped him.

"Where d'ya think you're going?" Jounichi demanded, holding onto his sleeve and the rope tied around his waist.

"Where does it look like I'm going?" He jerked his head towards the rapids pointedly. Time was slipping away, and Atemu was barely holding on. The water was up to his chest now, and he had to fight to keep his and Yugi's head afloat.

Seto shrugged his arm from his puppy's grip, ignoring the annoyed look the blond shot at him. "I'm not going to sit by and watch my cousin drown." He snapped.

The soldiers' eyes locked, each glaring at the other.

"What?" Jou asked, dangerously calm. "D'you think we're about to let 'em die?" The very thought itself seemed to send tremors of anger through his limbs. Insulted brown eyes flashed up to meet with blue.

"Listen mutt-"

"No!" Jounichi cut across him angrily. "You're not going to jump into those rapids, I won't let ya!"

Seto glared and pulled the blonde towards him by the scruff of his neck. "Then who will?" He demanded, his voice daring the honey-eyed boy to contradict him. "_Someone _has to go in there after them!" His blue eyes darted towards the figures struggling through the rapids. The Gazelle's breaths were now coming in deep pants, her tongue lolling out of her mouth. She was quickly being drained of energy; it wouldn't be long now before one of her riders slipped off her slick back and into the water.

Jou's face split into a wolfish grin. "Of course someone's going in, but it definitely isn't going to be you!" He tore himself from Seto's grip and in seconds tied the other end of Seto's rope to his waist. When he looked up at Seto upon finishing, his grin faltered.

The brunette seemed to be having an aneurysm.

All the color seemed to have been drained out of the high priest's face and his dark eyebrows were set at an angry 'v'. "No." He growled shortly, his lips barely moved, "Absolutely not."

Jou's eyes widened in confusion, "An' why not?" He demanded, "What're you gonna do about it?"

Seto needed to be restrained by Bakura. The albino's red eyes glinted with a kind of hallowed out wickedness. "Cool it Seth," He wound a large chunk of Seto's blue robe around his fist, successfully preventing him from pouncing on the younger. "As much as I hate to admit it, Jou's the strongest swimmer there is; He has a better chance at reaching those two shrimps then you do."

Seto spluttered uncharacteristically, "That's not why I don't want him to-" He cut himself off before he could blurt out his concern for the mutt. Bakura and Ryou gave him a knowing smile – In Bakura's case, it was more like gut wrenching laughter.

Jou seemed to understand what the older had stopped himself from saying, and his brown eyes softened. "Don't worry about me Seth; you should see my doggy paddle." He joked. Seto, barely amused shrugged Bakura's hand off and grabbed Jounichi's shoulders roughly. For a moment, shocked brown eyes met with Seto's icy glare.

The latter seemed to be struggling for words, his blue eyes closing in some kind of silent conflict. Before the blond could draw breath to ask what was wrong, he found the brunette's lips crushed against his.

He could hear Bakura let out a loud cat whistle and Ryou question if now was really the time to be playing tonsil hockey.

Shocked, Jou pulled away, his hand slapped against his lips, "WH-What?!" He managed to splutter before Seto dragged him into another heart-searing kiss, effectively silencing him.

A tongue lightly flicked across the stilled lips, further destroying the small electrons left stirring in Jou's brain.

This... felt so good... Jou could barely think before the lips drew away. He found himself strangely disappointed.

"If you want to get back at me," Seto whispered, his tone soft. "You better come out of this in one piece Pup."

His tan hands found their way to Jou's waist, trailing there before the high priest turned around.

"Keh," He muttered. "Go."

He was back to being his usual icy self in no time.

A small smile drew itself on Jounichi's face. The blonde turned towards the dangerous currents. He would make sure to hold Seto up to his side of the bargain. He wanted to try that kissing thing out one more time.

And then he dove.  
-

No sooner had his shaggy blonde-head disappeared under the currents or had it had reappeared above the surface again. The rapids pressed against his chest, making it difficult for Jou to draw a breath. He struck his arms out, trending water, panting as he made slow progress.

Several times the blonde had trouble keeping his head afloat; he cast worried honey-brown eyes at his two friends. He assessed the situation, only realizing then that there was no way he could reach them with his rapidly depleting strength.

If only he could find some kind of outcrop of rock to cling to and take this rescue attempt in steps.

The blonde was so absorbed with his thoughts that he didn't notice the flailing body beneath him until it was too late.

A Libyan, battered and bleeding from the rockslide, snaked a bruised hand around Jou's ankle and pulled the blonde sharply under the water to give himself enough momentum to reach the surface.

Jounichi floundered, breathing in a lung filled with water. Precious air bubbles squirted from his nose as he tried to cough out the liquid. A failed attempt when he realized that he was still underwater. He tried to rise back to the air, but once again his unobservant self got him in trouble.

What the blonde failed to notice, was the debris that swirled about him, caught in the currents. He turned, just in time to see a brick slam harshly against his temple. The rest of his air was ripped from his lungs, robbing the poor soldier of his last minutes of breathe.

He blinked back the black spots that burst before his eyes. _'How perfect...'_ He thought hazily. _'A rock, just what I needed...a bit late though...'_

A dark cloud of red began to blossom around his injury as he felt his consciousness begin to fade away. He was most certainly glad there were no sharks in the Nile. How silly...

With each throb from his head, Jou felt his limbs go numb with cold and weakness.

He struggled to stay away, barely noticing the sharp pull around his navel. Honey eyes looked down at his waist, barely surprised. He had completely forgotten about the rope he had tied around himself. _'Someone's pulling me up...' _He thought, noticing the surface suddenly get a lot closer. He pushed his weight up, finally breaking the surface. He took in deep grateful breaths of air, glancing back towards his friends, wondering who had saved him.

Seto, in the forefront was gripping the rope so tightly his knuckles had turned white, "We're reeling you back in Mutt!" He snarled, looking very pale. Bakura, usually not so agreeable, nodded adjusting his hold on the cord without his usual sneer.

Brown eyes gazed at their surroundings before Jou's heart leapt to his throat. He was so _close _now, the currents having carried him nearly halfway there. He could even make out the tired red glint in Atemu's eyes. There was no way he was giving up now; not after coming this far!

Calling up his last reserves of strength, he struck out against the water, trending through it strongly. He didn't know he still had this much juice left in him, but he kept on swimming, even ignoring the yells of his friends as he gave them all rope burn. He smiled weakly when he heart Seto cursing at him from the other side of the cliff face.

Careful this time, Jounichi made his way towards the two. Upon reaching them Atemu held out a hand to help Jounichi climb onto a tired Gazelle. She didn't seem to appreciate the added weight, and they sunk a bit lower. Gratefully, the blonde took the hand, watching with some interest as Atemu shifted Yugi onto his lap. The captain's eyes fluttered open and he subconsciously cuddled closer to the prince.

Jounichi fought the urge to roll his eyes, _'Of all times...'_ He thought with exasperation. He quickly untied the rope around his waist, handing it to Atemu as the crimson eyed teenager looped it around gazelle's midriff. Jounichi gave the thumbs up for the company to start pulling.

But Atemu saw the problem before they had even started to move.

During Jounichi's fight with the water, the rope had grown ragged and frayed. It wouldn't be long before it snapped, and it most certainly couldn't hold all of their weight. One of them had to get off of Gazelle and fall victim to the rapids.

"No," A quiet whisper.

Ruby eyes glanced down and were met with fiery amethyst orbs. "No." Yugi repeated. Thin arms curled against Atemu's chest. "Don't do it," His pleaded. The captain looked up at Atemu, water dripping from his golden locks and onto his beautiful face. Yugi was very perceptive, and had automatically seen what the problem was. "Don't." He begged, his small fists balling into Atemu's tunic.

The prince could feel his heart swell in his chest, and suddenly ached to have this moment last forever.

He cupped Yugi's wet face in his hands, feeling no regrets. Somehow, he managed to block out everything around him. Jounichi, the breaking rope, the battle, the war, and all the lies he had spoken to get here. It was just him and Yugi.

"Yami... no," Yugi whispered, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. They collected on his long eyelashes. "Don't do this..."

Atemu tilted Yugi's head upward; he pressed his lips hungrily against the captain's remaining gentle, so not to frighten him. He needn't have done that though, because Yugi eagerly responded with passion.

The prince swiped his tongue across Yugi's supple lips, his heart throwing itself against his ribcage. He felt time stop as Yugi shifted on his lap and complied with his silent request. The captain clung desperately to the soldier, molding his body against his dark side.

In that one moment, they were both content. Breathing in harsh shaky breaths they drew apart, oblivious to a traumatized Jounichi sitting besides them.

Yugi untangled himself from Atemu and looked at the older with confused and scared amethyst eyes. "Yami..." He whispered, keeping his arms loose around the prince's neck. Atemu's ruby eyes glimmered sadly, He finally had found someone he loved... and now.

Now he would die to save him.

He touched his lips against Yugi's one last time, before he breathed, "No..." He brushed the eyelid of Yugi's violet orb, catching a tear on his finger gently. He examined it as it absorbed into his skin, "No..." He repeated, "That's not my name." He purred into his ear.

Yugi's eyes widened in confusion, "Ya-..?" He was silenced with another kiss.

"No" The prince smiled, sadly. "Not 'Yami', my name is 'Atemu'."

A sharp gasp drew through Yugi, and in his shock he withdrew his arms from around the prince's neck. "You...You're...?" Atemu nodded, the smile never reaching past his eyes.

"Good-bye aibou."

And without Yugi's arms to prevent him from slipping off the side of gazelle, Atemu backed his legs into the water. Almost immediately, he could feel the water beginning to tear at him, dying to drag him down to his death. Too late, Yugi reached his hand out to catch him and for the briefest moment, their hands touched.

Too soon it was over; Atemu's fingers slipped from Yugi's slick fingers. The wide violet eyes contracted in horror, unable to do anything while he saw the man he loved disappearing under the water, a prisoner to the god who controlled the Nile.

Yugi didn't even know he was screaming until Jounichi latched two strong arms around him and tugged him away from the place Atemu had been sitting.

"Let go!"

"Yug', C'mon..."

"No! Let go of me!" A dry sob escaped his throat. Yugi clawed against Jounichi's skin. He was sure Atemu wasn't gone. He couldn't be dead, he just couldn't. He had that indestructible air around him, as though he was impervious to the world. His eyes blurred with streaming tears. He couldn't bring himself to believe it; he wouldn't _let_ himself believe it.

"No..." He gasped, more strangled now. Yugi's purple eyes glanced up at Jounichi's, as though silently begging for him to tell him this was all some sort of cruel joke. He received something that wasn't solace. In the blonde's honey-brown eyes, dark tears lingered on his eyelashes, a haunted expression adorned his face.

Yugi reeled backwards as though burned. "No..."

"Yugi..." Jounichi gained a resigned look in his eyes.

"...Don't say it..." Yugi pleaded.

"He's..." Jounichi pushed.

"Stop!" The smaller begged.

"Dead..." the older finished.

Yugi felt the cold hand of Anubis grip his heart. Slowly, as if it was glass being held in the hands of an evil child, Yugi felt his soul crack, break, and then shatter.

His other half was gone.

"My name isn't Seth, its Seto." The high priest said stiffly.

When he had found out what had happened to Atemu he didn't cry. He didn't pause, He didn't think, He didn't feel - or so that's what it looked like. It was always a rule of the priesthood, become detached to your liege in the case of death. In the case of the prince, the cheerful Atemu had somehow managed to squirm his way past Seto's cold exterior.

He was hurting.

But now he had to be strong.

Staring deeply into Yugi's broken eyes, he could tell he had lost all will to fight. It was as though he had lost the will to live. The captain stared blankly at the ground, his lips moving soundlessly. Sometimes, it seemed as though he breathed _Atemu_;but since the captain hadn't spoken at all, the company imagined it was the whispers of the dead they were hearing.

"We joined the war to fight for Egypt." A dark shadow crossed his face. "Atemu wanted to fight for the country, to be one of the men who fought on the front lines -not just to be the person ordering young men to their deaths."

Seto would offer no condolences to Yugi, nor would he offer any more of an explanation unless prompted to.

Or that was his game plan.

Until Yugi looked up at him with deadened eyes. The amethyst depths missed their usual glimmer of light, as if it had been completely snuffed out. The high priest felt inclined to say something to the boy who lead what was left of Egypt's army; A boy younger then himself, younger even then Atemu. And what did the boy get for his efforts? His grandfather killed, his love killed. All in the name of glory.

This truly was a war of hearts.

He met the captain's gaze coolly, yet inside his stomach felt queasy at the expression on his face. "Lead the army until the end." He muttered. He let the rest of the sentence hang in mid-air without speaking it; however everyone seemed to know what was being said.

_He would have wanted it like this._

Yugi did not move at first. His flat eyes regained no color, but quietly, he spoke. "You're right."

No one flinched at the utterly abysmal tone, but they sure as hell wanted to.

"Move out."  
-

**Okay, so… was anyone expecting that? Predictable or not?**

**Read and Review!!! ((Cowers and hides))**


	9. Follow your Heart

**Alright, this is a long chapter. It's to make up for the sad, short chapter I wrote down previously. ((Taps finger on chin)) I'm actually very surprised I didn't get a lot of death threats for killing of Atemu. Well, I guess there's always next time.**

Disclaimer: I don't own YuGiOh or the increasingly vague outline of Mulan.

-

He was trapped in a slow, steady darkness. Shadowy tendrils pulled at him from all sides, probing his mind and stealing his memories. They picked at his body until it was no more, and robbed him of his essence and feelings. He struggled vainly, trying to hold onto his memories as each one was stolen, one by one. The only thing he could remember was the face of his love... _Yugi_...

Terrified that Yugi too, would disappear, he sealed his image and name into his heart, before that too was taken away. 

So now he just lay there, bodiless, heartless and emotionless. Not knowing who, or what he was. He only knew of one thing. His name...

_Atemu_...

-

Yugi and his company were currently in Thebes, resting. They were planning on waking up early to walk straight to Cairo before Ra set the next day.

Each step he took seemed to draw blood from his feet. Yugi had to fight just so he wouldn't break down and end his life. Taking into consideration that he was still moving around and walking, he thought he was doing a pretty good damn job.

He bit his bottom lip absently; the heat of Ra had already disappeared in its place, the air stagnant and cold. He made no attempt to get up and into the shade. Yugi was at a point where he didn't even care if he died from hypothermia. 

His friends watched him warily from their tent. Ever since Atemu died, they hadn't left their captain alone for even one second; each feared the worst: that Atemu's death on top of Solomon Mouto's would drive Yugi over the edge.

"He hasn't moved in hours." Bakura hissed sourly, "I say we drag him in here so we don't have to cut off a couple of his toes." He pulled Ryou close to his chest. He wouldn't admit it aloud, but he had been afraid in the Valley of the Kings. Not for himself, but for Ryou. The small albino was the only thing he had left, and he would be damned if he let anything happen to him. Even he, Bakura, mourned silently for the prince whose quick thinking saved the light of his life.

Although he would never admit it out in the open –He never really liked the royal family, and that wasn't about to change.

Jounichi and Seto sat at opposite sides of the tent. The blonde was stubbornly staring at everything except the high priest, "Can it Bakura." He muttered. His eyes flickered over to the seemingly stone figure of Seto. Blue eyes were shamelessly staring at him, and Jounichi quickly looked away. "What are we gonna do about him?" He mumbled.

"As of now, nothing" Seto said coolly, "Anything we may say to him now will only hurt him further."

For a moment Jounichi forgot to ignore the high priest and cast pained eyes at him. "How can you act like that?" He demanded, hurt. "He can't be the only one hurting, you must be too! Atemu was your damn cousin!"

Seto's cold mask slipped, stung. He quickly composed himself, "Shut up mutt!" He snapped angrily. His eyes shifted from furious brown ones to gaze at the captain. "He'll only be hurt."

Jou bristled, "But we have to let Yugi know we'll be there for him!" He snarled, angry that _now _Seto refused to look at him. That strangely annoyed him. "The guy he loves is dead, his only guardian is dead, and now he's all by himself!" He stomped his foot for emphasis. "We have to show that he _isn't _alone!"

Seto snapped his eyes back towards the angry blonde and stood up. It was then Jou had realized just why Seto had become the High Priest at such a young age. His very being emanated command and power; now his eyes flashed with undiluted anger. "A _mutt _may not be able to understand this, but _I _certainly do."

"He still believes Atemu is alive, doesn't he?" A quiet voice interrupted. Ryou, who had been quiet since the prince's death finally, spoke.

Jounichi paused and stared at the albino, wide eyed. Seto nodded, "It would figure _you _could understand."

Ryou didn't respond he just hid his face in the crook of Bakura's arm. The garnet eyed albino just looked at his light in wonder. Jounichi looked like he had been told to eat a live scarab. "Are you kidding me, why would he believe that!?"

"Yugi isn't dead yet." Seto snapped in a tone that seemed to suggest he had answered all the questions in the world.

"What is that supposed to mean!? Yugi can still survive without Atemu!" Jounichi snapped back, defending his best friend.

Ryou sighed and untangled himself from his darker half. "No he can't Jou; a light can't live without a shadow."

Jounichi's eyes widened even further. He looked warily at Seto and Ryou, "Wait a minute..." He said slowly. "You're talking as though you two actually believe... Atemu is alive."

They both nodded. 

Bakura looked on with a sour expression. "In case you two didn't notice, Atemu was submerged with the NILE, where a bunch of rabid and pissed off Libyans were underwater and waiting."

"Take into account that there were over 50 tons of broken pyramids awaiting him, I'd say it's safe to assume that equation equals one steaming pile of shit for Atemu." Jounichi added.

Seto shot a look at Bakura. "As a high priest, I can see a person's aura..." Seeing their confused looks, he made a note to dumb down his explanation. "...Or their essence, what makes a person themselves. It's what keeps a person alive...

"Atemu's aura and Yugi's aura were tied together." He frowned, "I don't really understand it myself, but I have a few theories as to why that happened.""What a load of shi- OW! Ryou, what did you do that for?!"

"Don't be so rude Bakura."

Jounichi looked at Seto, "Go on..." He sighed, already feeling emotionally drained from all this.

Seto nodded. "Even at the youngest age, Atemu always had a very dark aura." His eyes slide over to Bakura, "Much like someone else I know..." Bakura snarled at him. "So I'm assuming, when they meet a compatible light aura..." His eyes slide over to Ryou. Bakura growled deep in his throat and wrapped a possessive arm around Ryou's waist. The albino's pale cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "They'll tie together to create a balance of a unified soul."

It slowly began to make sense to Jounichi, "So..." He said slowly, "Two parts, light and dark make up one soul. In Atemu and Bakura's case, they were born with just the dark half." Bakura hissed profanities at Jounichi. Receiving a nod of agreement from Seto, he continued, "So they joined with the light halves –Yugi and Ryou, to become whole." He paled when he understood what this meant. "But what happens when one dies...?"

Seto looked at Jounichi solemnly, "The other will eventually pine to death."

The blonde waved a frustrated hand, "But that's what Yugi's doing _now_!" He gestured violently at the shivering form of their violet eyed captain.

The priest said nothing but nodded. "This is true... I can't feel his aura, it seems as though his soul has passed on to the next plane." He murmured. He paused. "It doesn't feel right though..."

Ryou's emerald eyes hardened. "He may not be alive _here_, but he is alive _somewhere_."

Jounichi looked at him skeptically, "What makes you think that?"

Ryou smiled thinly at the blonde before weaving his small hand with his dark's larger one. "Because if it was Bakura" He said softly, "I would have followed immediately." A sharp intake of breathe behind him, followed by an angry hiss came from the aforementioned. Garnet eyes narrowed in a mixture of anger and disbelief. "Ryou..."

The albino pressed on, "Yugi's had plenty of chance to off himself, and he hasn't yet. Why? Because if Atemu's body isn't alive, his soul is _and_ tied to Yugi's."

"But how would you know if it was still here or not?!" Jounichi challenged, awed in spite of himself. He wasn't normally as superstitious as this, but he was beginning to believe it all, despite himself.

Ryou plopped down onto the woven blanket next to his love, curling into a ball so his head was resting on Bakura's broad shoulder. Green met troubled Garnet eyes, and Ryou smiled enigmatically.

"We just would."  
-

It was so dark; He couldn't tell if his eyes were open or closed. Did he even _have_ eyes? 

Where was he?

Atemu could barely think.

He wasn't worried, nor did he care where he ended up.

The only feeling he experienced was a sort of mind-numbing calmness.

His emotions were deadened and did not feel as though they belonged to him.

He tried to move, but found he was no longer corporeal. He didn't possess solid arms, legs, hands, or feet. Atemu didn't know who he was or why he was here- wherever 'here' was.

Atemu floated and did some sort of head turn. Since he didn't have a body, this experience was a little more then strange.

Atemu could vaguely sense another person there with him. Unable to see, he felt a long the area with his thoughts, finding he was able to project them into the space around him.

_'Where am I?' _He asked the being in front of him. Atemu didn't really care; it was just curiosity that made him ask in the first place.

When he felt the person shift, a strange longing and sadness surged within Atemu. It seemed to come from the spirit being.

_'You are in the dwellings of the gods.' _The spirit replied. _'This is a place nestled between life and death; we are now waiting to have our souls weighed by Anubis and the scales of Ma'at.'_

Atemu nodded, this all seemed to make sense to him. Standard procedure. Very normal.

_'Why am I here?'_

'Because you're dead.'

'Why am I dead?'

'Why else? Because you died_.'_

Atemu frowned as a sparked of indignation illuminated his soul. That couldn't be. He didn't _feel _dead.

Not that he could feel much. Well, maybe you didn't feel in death.

Well, he supposed he could have been killed somehow. He didn't remember anyway.

Although that didn't explain why he could still feel a little. Hm... Interesting.

That current of longing radiated from the spirit before him. Atemu let it wash over him and hummed in content. He couldn't explain it, but those feelings, sad as they were, made him feel... nice.

But soon enough, his spark faded away and his senses were once again saturated with the calming aloe of death. He found himself wishing to be weighed quickly so he could finally rest in peace. It was so quiet and peaceful in death.

Atemu was unaware of the tendrils of darkness that wound around his body, trapping his soul. They seemed to contract and shy away when the spirit being drew closer, radiating a soft light. _'Why are you interested?' _The spirit asked, interested.

Once again, that longing sadness flooded through Atemu; as nice as it was, the prince was sick of feeling. He just wanted to sleep forever and be left alone. It was someone else's turn to be bothered by a spirit.

_'I don't know' _Atemu replied. Truthfully, he had already forgotten the reason behind his questioning. He was much too content where he was. The spirit placed small hands over Atemu's trapped soul, and the darkness surrounding him screamed in fright before shrinking away. '_Open your eyes' _It pleaded.

Atemu shook his head. He was much too tired to do so; besides he didn't even have eyes. The voice persisted. _'Please open your eyes.' _It pleaded desperation evident.

Atemu was slowly aware of something odd. His soul felt like it was beginning to reform. He indeed had eyes again. He cracked his ruby orbs into slits. _'That's it!' _The voice sighed happily, _'Please open them all the way...' _It begged.

Through his eyelashes, he could make out two white hands that glowed gold hold his re-forming face gently. The spirit's voice was so compelling and sweet, so full of warmth, Atemu hated to be cause of the spirit's distress. Lazily, he opened his eyes all the way.

He made out a small figure with wild spiky hair and large violet eyes before the spirit removed his hands from Atemu's face and transformed into a ball of light. In the distance, he made out a figure, completely black and quietly observing the scene from far away. His eyes widened as he caught sight of the person's face. 

It was _him_. 

Except made completely out of shadows and darkness.

The shadow-him grinned and waved, _'Hi there.'_

'Quit playing around Yami!' The ball of light stressed, _'We have to hurry before THEY get here!' _

Yami –who happened to be the shadow-him, nodded, his face a mask of seriousness. _'You're right Hikari' _He thought absently. In a flash, he was stand before Atemu, in all of his dark glory.

It was like looking into some twisted mirror. Yami was an exact replica of Atemu except with a few significant differences. For one, every inch of his body was covered in darkness. His skin, and hair, even the whites of his eyes were black. The only thing they had in common were their ruby eyes, _'Sorry boss, but we're doing this to save you. You'll thank us later.' _Yami thought apologetically.

His dark hands scooped the small ball of light. For a second, he held it close. Kissing it gently, a fond smile graced his face. _'Don't worry aibou, I'll see you soon...' _He told it. Hikari made a content humming sound before he sighed, _'Be careful Yami...' _It said regretfully.

Yami just smirked. He turned to Atemu and looked at him sadly. _'I'm really sorry I have to do this to you...' _

Before Atemu could ask just WHAT Yami was planning on doing to him, the shadowed hand shoved the ball of light straight into Atemu's open eyes.

Unbelievable pain seared through his essence, and Atemu could have sworn he was dieing again. He wanted so badly to scream out in agony, somehow knowing that if he screamed just once, the pain would subside.

Again and again the white hot burning struck through his entire being.

The spirit next to him seemed completely oblivious to Atemu's suffering, or maybe he was just ignoring him on purpose. Yami watched Atemu struggle with Hikari inside him, ruby eyes reflecting regret. _'Don't fight him!' _He all but shouted in Atemu's head. _'If you fight, your soul will tear apart!' _

It was true, He could feel what was left of his soul begin to slowly rip, bringing a new wave of agony unlike the kind he had felt earlier.

It was an unearthly feeling, one that could not possibly belong to him alone. Atemu knew that Hikari was trying to soothe him from the inside, but it did little or no good. Hikari's feelings bounced through him a mixture of loneliness and anguish. Atemu gave a mental howl as he felt a part of his soul tear away, leaving him bleeding and unable to think straight.

Bitterness

And Love...

Atemu's spirit writhed, trying to tense and twist away from the thing that was harming him.

But Hikari embedded the strange feeling of love into Atemu's soul. He firmly kept it locked on the prince until he stopped his escape attempts and settled. There was no more pain.

His crimson eyes slid open, his own feelings now re-awakened thanks to Hikari's persistence. Strangely enough, this painful process had sped up his recovery rate, and he now had a spirit form of his body. This comforted him, Yami looked on with interest, _'Well, as exciting as it is to see my host re-form himself in record timing, I think we're cutting it close.'_

Atemu could feel Hikari stir irritably inside him.

Despite having form, he still wasn't solid, his hands and body being translucent.

It was strange to have Hikari's feelings inside him. Up until this point, he had only been able to feel vague confusion and interest. It was like this place robbed a person of everything that made them human.

Yami's eyes widened in alarm, "Move!" He shouted.

Atemu didn't even bother to question how Yami gained the ability to speak, but he obeyed nonetheless.

Now that Hikari's light had disappeared, the dark tendrils that had captured Atemu's soul crept back. They just needed to touch his soul once, and then he'd be back under their control. They took Atemu by surprise, and darted forward, but Yami beat them to the punch.

He pushed Atemu out of the way, barely flinching when the dark tendril wrapped itself around his neck. Hikari stirred in frightened alarm. Atemu felt as though he himself was being strangled by the shadows and fell to his knees. Hikari was torn, he attempted to leave Atemu's body and assist his look-a-like, but Yami's choked reply stopped him. "No!" He wheezed, "You can't leave Atemu until his physical body returns!"

_'But you can't disappear before it returns!' _Hikari protested. Frankly, Atemu had no idea what the hell was going on. 

The shadows released Yami. He wasn't what they wanted. They gently pulled at the edges of Atemu's mind, coercing him to close his eyes again. This frightened Atemu. Already the shadows of this place had stolen from him his memories and feelings -He had just gotten those back, He didn't want to forget anything else. Like his name.

The shadows didn't like this choice, they wanted their prisoner back.

Atemu scowled and stood by Yami's side. The dark look-a-like fixed a ruby eye on him and smiled. Hikari's feelings coursed through him again, and this time Atemu welcomed it. They were warning him of the shadows intent, urging him to hurry with his regenerative process. He wondered how the hell he could do that, after all, it wasn't like he had a magical switch that spontaneously created bodies. Hikari gave a frustrated screech, making Atemu wince.

_'How the heck do you put up with him when he gets this frantic?' _Atemu thought to Yami. The shadow being smirked, "By calming him down..." 

_'And how do you go about calming...him...down...' _Atemu trailed off as unwanted images of the Light and Dark flooded his mind. _'Ah! Stop! Stop! STOP!!!' _Yami ceased, but not without a smug expression on his face. Hikari was, indeed calmer, if not mortally embarrassed.

_'You didn't have to show him THAT' _He grouched. Yami just tried to look innocent, and failed.

Glancing down at his hands, he was amazed –and extremely disgusted to see his nerves and bones reforming.

_'What the hell is going on?' _He asked to no one in particular. What he didn't count on what someone answering him, "You're coming back to life."

He and Yami jerked around, Atemu could see two sets of luminous yellow orbs glaring at him. Yami cursed violently under his breathe and positioned himself into a defensive stance.

Atemu was confused, forgetting that his thoughts were project he thought a resounding, _'What the fu-'_

"Finish that sentence and you will never see the light of day again."

Atemu quickly trailed his thought off, instead choosing to ask a more civil question, _'Who are you?'_

Yami shook his head, "You don't want to know." He growled angrily. 

One set of eyes rolled as if that was the stupid question in the world. The other set stared on unblinkingly, "None of your business!" The active pair replied haughtily.

Yami snorted, "They're Fate and Destiny, the daughters of father time and known as the worst pranksters in the universe."

The still pair of eyes narrowed at Yami, "Talking bad about your superiors little darkness?" A feminine voice rang coldly. "We created you... We can easily destroy you." She paused, and then thought better of it, "Or your little light."

Yami's face seemed to go from black to grey. "You wouldn't dare..." He hissed, body tensing. 

"Would I?"

From here, Atemu could make out two smoky figures, one larger then the other, but both distinctly female. The larger of the two raised a hand at Atemu. Before he could even contemplate what she was planning on doing, a glowing spear of light shot through his chest.

It passed through him harmlessly, but a shriek of pain came from Hikari. He was forcibly ripped from Atemu's body. Two sets of Ruby eyes widened, and for the first time, Atemu got a good look at Hikari. He was small, with spiky wild hair just like his. Every inch of his body glowed with a white-gold light, the exact opposite of Yami. He had large, shimmering amethyst eyes and soft rounded cheeks. Atemu felt his breathe catch when gazing upon the boy of light, he looked achingly familiar.

Hikari got up and looked apologetically at Yami and Atemu. "Sorry," He murmured, "I didn't do a good job..." 

Yami was at his side in an instant, "Of course you did," He said distractedly, "Are you hurt?"

"No" The cold sister muttered, Then she formed another bolt of light in her hands, "But he will be." Then she threw it, aiming it squarely in poor Hikari's chest. 

Before it could even touch the light being though, Yami jumped in the way to take the blow.

Two sets of red eyes and one set of violet widened. Simultaneously, Atemu and Yami fell to the ground. The darker of the two let out an agonized scream before exploding in a thousand wisps of shadow.

Atemu felt his chest explode in pain, his vision blurred with unshed tears. He felt as though a part of him just died. Hikari let out a soft whimper, tears building up in his expressive eyes. "No... Yami."

The bolt of light would have simply incapacitated Hikari since it was part of who he was, but as soon as it touched a dark being like Yami... well...

The older sister turned to her look a like, "Fate." 

Fate giggled and held out her palm, Yami's essence was vacuumed into her out stretched hand. _'Aibou...' _They heard him groan. Apparently, he had lost the ability to speak. For now he was a simple black orb floating harmlessly in Fate's hand. Hikari breathed out in relief. "Yami..." He said happily.

"What do you two want?" Atemu snapped. Then he paused and looked at Hikari in shock, "Did I just-?"

"Talk?" Fate giggled, "Why yes, yes you did!"

Atemu raised a hand to his mouth surprised, and then stared incredulously at the floating eyes. "What do you want?"

The two sisters obviously had something important to say; because Hikari stepped into his own defensive stance. He stretched a glowing palm face up, a long sickle shaped sword made of light appearing. He stood, tense.

"Now, here you are, a poor soul, left alone with an irritating light, possessing no memory of who you are." Fate cooed. Atemu felt her descend upon him and pinch his cheek as if he was Grandmother's favorite little boy, "Poor, Poor little prince."

Atemu felt himself bristle at her nickname for him, it stirred a memory in his mind, but he couldn't remember as hard as he tried. It slowly dawned on him that she could touch him. "What are you t-?"

"Hush now dear prince," Fate giggled, "You're going to need your voice quite soon."

She called him prince again. Atemu frowned. Did she know him? He fired her with a questioning look.

Fate squealed with joy, and latched herself against his newly reformed chest, she pinched his cheek again. "Aw Destiny! Look how well he came out! Can we keep him?" She begged her older sister, as if Atemu was some sort of stray dog that had followed her home. So help him Ra, if she pinched his cheek one more time...

Before he could snap at her to get off of him, a twisting from inside his being sent him toppling sideways, "Wha-..?"

"Your organs are coming back." Hikari said stressfully.

"That would be your liver reforming." Destiny said frostily. Atemu gave another jerk, "And your kidneys."

His chest expanded and Atemu couldn't breathe. Apparently his lungs were coming back. He coughed and spluttered for a few minutes he was unable to breathe. Hikari slapped him on the back a few times, and suddenly his diaphragm started working correctly.

"Thanks," He said weakly, struggling to his feet once again. By now, his organs had refilled his body. Yet alive and breathing, he still didn't feel complete; on top of that, he still didn't know who he was. Something Fate had said was bothering him 'Look how well he came out'.

He felt odd and drained, he frowned. "That wasn't everything. There's something still missing in me." He placed a hand over his chest. He felt so empty and lost. Atemu looked at the two sisters and narrowed his eyes. "You have it." Hikari looked to the floor in defeat.

Fate allowed him a small smile and turned to her sister who had taken Yami into her hands. Destiny held up the orb that was previously Yami, from this distance... he almost looked like...

He felt his stomach drop to his feet.

...A heart.

Alarm coursed through his dry veins like the worst sort of blood. "Is that-?"

Destiny smiled. It was cruel and angry, "Your heart?" She finished sweetly. "Well let's find out!" Her look darkened and she squeezed the muscle in her hand. 

Pain blossomed in Atemu's chest, leaving his body weak. His lungs constricted and he was unable to breathe. Yet all of a sudden the pain stopped. Dazed crimson eyes looked up just in time to see Hikari hurling himself at Destiny. Fate closed the distance between him and her sister with one graceful ballerina step and scooped the small boy into her arms with black hands.

He screamed from the dark magic, and reverted to his orb form. Fate petted it with a black finger.

Atemu stared, horrified. Whatever his past thoughts were, he was now beyond confused. "What's going on?" He demanded shakily. He had already lost the two people who had attempted to help him in a matter of five minutes. "I don't understand anything..."

"You don't need to." Fate chirped.

"I'm at the mercy of two complete strangers" Atemu countered, "One of which is a trigger happy goddess that's holding onto my heard as though it was some sort of stress ball." He growled sarcastically, "The other is holding onto the light half _of _my heart! I think I'm entitled to a few answers."

Destiny floated inched into the air, crossing her legs and absently toying with the hem of her shadow dress. "Very well your highness." She muttered, "If it'll stop your whining for five minutes, the I guess I have no choice but to tell you a _few _thins."

Atemu waited impatiently.

"Lets start easy, shall we?" She said with a mocking tone of a grade school teacher, "What is this about?" On the world 'this' she pointed to the heart in her opposite hand.

"Well the heart is a symbolic figure as well as a muscle to keep a person alive. In this plane, you can only feel the essence of your body. What I'm holding is not your physical heart, but the essence of your heart."

Atemu frowned. "So you're saying if we were on the physical plane, I'd have a heart?"

Fate nodded, "Yup! You can even live without the essence of your body-"

" –But then you'd just be a useless soulless husk." Destiny finished flatly.

"What does it do?" Atemu frowned. All of his soul was in his body now; if he didn't have an empty hole in his chest, he would have never noticed it was gone.

Destiny raised and eyebrow and for a moment looked confused. Her mask of indifference slid back into place. "That's a good point." She said deadpanned. "I don't have a single idea."

Fated erupted in a bout of giggles, "Destiny doesn't have a heart!" She said cheerfully, "I do though, so I'll explain!"

"The essence of one's heart isn't connected to a person's soul or body; it's a completely separate and powerful entity. You hold onto the essence until you find a person you love, they will then give you their heart, and you, yours." She pondered for a moment, choosing her words carefully. "You were a special case, because you weren't born with the essence of your heart."

She held up the white heart that was Hikari. "You were born with someone else's..."

-

Horace prowled the halls of the sky like a feral animal. Atemu was dead, Yugi was dieing from the inside out, and the only thing the falcon god could do was watch.

Seth was absently toying with a vial of sand. "Will you quit your pacing?" He demanded, "It's not going to change anything."

Horace clicked his beak angrily, but was too distracted to come up with anything clever. Osiris and Anubis came bursting into the room, both looking angry and frustrated.

Osiris fixed his dark eyes on his son, and stormed up to Horace in three large steps. "What did you do?!" He shook the falcon god by his shoulders.

Horace blinked his golden eye in surprise. "What _are _you talking about _now_ old man?" He backed up but ran into something hard, he stared up into his rival's eyes. Anubis, the jackal god of death glowered down at him. "We know you did it."

Horace was confused; Anubis was usually fairly polite and cordial. Now the god of death looked like he was ready to... well, cause some death. "Do what?" He asked bluntly.

Seth watched this all in boredom, Osiris coming in and yelling at Horace for doing something stupid –like he always did, was a constant thing. The only thing that surprised him this time was Anubis' presence. What were the two gods of death doing here?

And then it clicked.

Things were going to get a lot more interesting, that was for sure.

"Atemu's. Soul. Is. Not. In. The. Under. World." Osiris ground out, "I know you had a 'special attachment' to the boy, but the game's over! Hand his soul back _now!"_ He jabbed an accusing finger in Horace's chest.

Horace almost started dancing. "His soul is gone?" He asked eagerly. "As in, it escaped the underworld?"

Anubis narrowed his eyes at the god of the sky and life. He held his hand out as if expecting Horace to put Atemu's soul into the outstretched limb. "Yes, because you stole it."

Horace slapped it away, He couldn't help it, and he did a little jig. Right there in front of his hated enemy, rival, and father. If only Seth had a video camera, he'd be replaying this moment centuries to come.

Osiris looked ready to kill, "Horace, this is no laughing matter."

"Sure it is." More dancing.

Seth decided it was time to interrupt before Osiris decided to follow through with his unspoken threat. "Horace was with me the whole time." He narrowed his eyes at Osiris and Anubis, "Unless you wish to question _my _innocence in the matter, Horace has been pacing here like an idiot for the last three days."

Osiris, Anubis, and Horace were stunned. Not only did Seth step up to the plate and help Horace out, but he insulted him at the same time. That took skill.

Well, he wasn't called the god of destruction and chaos for nothing.

So Osiris and Anubis left, muttering to themselves about harassing Ra –which usually wasn't so good of an idea, unless there was a desperate situation. Apparently, one missing soul was cause for panic.

Once they were gone, Seth went back to playing with his bit of sand. Horace's good mood wore off, leaving more questions then answers. "So he's alive," He muttered, "But Yugi is still dieing from the inside out, none of this makes sense..."

His back stiffened, and he fixed a golden eye on Seth. "His soul got separated from his body." 

"Well yeah, I could have told you that." The god of the desert muttered. 

"So where's his soul now?"

A shrug.

"And where's his body?"

Another shrug.

"Well thanks for being so helpful!" Horace snapped, and then took to pacing again. Seth was mildly surprised; never in his thousands of years of life had he seen Horace attempt to engage him in a conversation, then get mad at him. Although Horace was usually angry at him 90 of the time, so Seth supposed that wasn't much to be surprised about. 

Seth frowned and looked at the silent falcon. It had been 30 seconds since the god of life had last said something. Not good. Usually Horace couldn't go ten seconds without screeching at him for breathing too loudly.

"Is this really bothering you?" Seth asked quietly. Horace didn't respond, he didn't even look at his enemy. He nodded.

The god of the desert sighed. As much as he hated him, he couldn't stand to see the god of life brood and sulk, it was much too scary. Almost as scary as Seth helping Horace. 

Twice.

In one day.

Count them.

Two times.

Horace owed him for this.

Seth stood up and concentrated. It was time to start the second thing he was known for. Chaos.

Some people were about to be very, _very _angry in a few minutes.

He turned halfway, the vial in his hand shattering as the trapped sand inside broke free. The sand enveloped him, and almost immediately, Seth was gone. 

One golden eye fixed on the spot Seth sad, Horace never broke pace. It was time he did a bit of hunting himself. He spread his arms upward towards the sky, feathers sprouting from under his arms to form wings. He crouched, the muscles in his legs coiling like springs. And then he too was off, soaring through the night sky.

-  
Atemu was shocked. "Then who has born my heart?" He demanded.

Destiny was unfazed, "As of right now that would be me."

Atemu visibly blanched.

"And no, that doesn't mean I'm your long lost lover."

Atemu visibly relaxed.

Fate laughed, "We can't tell you who had your heart, only now since you...Uhm, 'died', he's suffering."

His mind wouldn't remember, but his body certainly did. Every inch of him screamed that this was a bad thing, a very bad one. He did not want the person, whoever he may be, that held his heart to suffer because of his death.

"Why?" He asked desperately, "Why does my death cause him pain?"

A look of what appeared to be pity flashed across Fate's face before it disappeared in a maleficent giggle, "For a lot of reasons you silly boy!" 

Atemu didn't even acknowledge the barb, "And they are?"

The younger sister poked the white heart. "Well, when you die, your heart dies; therefore the one who was born with your heart no longer has one anymore."

Crimson eyes narrowed, "Then why doesn't he take his heart?" He snapped, angry that there wasn't anything he could do. He knew in his bones that this was his fault.

Fate clucked her tongue, "Because _you _had it; when you died, the heart went with you instead of returning to its host."

"Why would it do that?"

"For the love of Chrono," Destiny growled, "And here I thought this mortal was smart."

Atemu glared at her but did nothing –not that he could, she was after all holding his heart. "Then why doesn't you inform me, oh wise one?" He asked sarcastically.

Destiny just ignored him and began to play with his heart's left artery –much to Atemu's great discomfort, "Because of two reasons A.) The heart was born with you-"

Atemu opened his mouth to argue. His heart wouldn't have followed him in death if that was the case. However, Destiny gave Yami a sharp proud, successfully cutting him off mid-breathe.

"And B.)..." Fates eyes softened, "The host loves you."

Atemu felt like he had been smacked across the face with a two-ton limestone.

"You were born with his heart, and he yours," Fate pressed on, "You are soul mates."

Atemu shook his head, eyes wide in what this meant, "So when I died..."

Fate nodded, a satisfied smile on her face, "You killed a part of him."

"How did I die?" He asked numbly, he barely noticed he had sunk to the floor in shock. Fate didn't answer his question. "Here's what we're going to do." She said with a grin.

Destiny stepped forward, "We're going to bring you back to life whether or not you want to." She stopped, "Although since we are _kind, _you may choose how you come back." Fate slung an arm around her sisters' shoulder, "You can't come back to life without a heart, but lucky enough for you, we happen to have two right here.

"If you pick your heart," Fate pointed to Yami, "It'll go in painlessly. We'll return this heart." Fate waved Hikari vaguely, "To your soul mate." Destiny chimed in flatly, "But here's the catch, if you choose this, we'll wipe away your memory of each other so it'll be like you never met each other." Her eyes flashed, "And you never will again if you choose this option."

"The problem is, you're still soul mates, memory or not. So this means you'll never find anyone to love; although there's a bright side, you wouldn't remember all the emotional scarring you put your mate through, and he won't be plagued with nightmares about your death for the rest of his natural life." She frowned, "Who needs love anyway? I'd take this option, you'd both be happier in the long run."

Fate shot her sister a dry look, "The other option is that we can fashion you both a new heart, it'll be incredibly painful, but you'll regain your memories –with the exception of your soul mate, and you'll be able to find love with whomever you please."

The looks on their face made Atemu think they weren't giving him all of his choices. "What will happen to Yami and Hikari?" He asked steadily. Fate almost squealed in delight, "Aw! Look Destiny, he gave those things names! How cute!"

Destiny ignored her sister, "They will be crushed and replaced into two new hosts." 

Atemu paled at the thought of his heat being crushed. When the older sister of time simply squeezed it a little, it had sent waves of agony coursing through him. Option one was looking bad, but better then two. He personally didn't like either choices, but what other choice did he have?

_'The power to choose' _Yami hissed in his mind.

Atemu was startled; he hadn't believed his dark heart still had the ability to speak. _'Option one is painless, emotionally and physically. The only thing I'll give up is love, and I'll never be the wiser.' _He thought back. Yami snorted angrily, _'Pathetic host.'_ He growled, _'Giving up something you want just because Fate has given you hand you can't play with.' _

Atemu glared at the black orb, floating innocently in Destiny's hand. _'If I go through with Option two, then I'll probably go insane with the pain!' _He shot back. This apparently wasn't the answer Yami was looking for, because when the dark spirit next spoke, his voice was heavy with sarcasm, _'Yes, so why don't you roll over and let these two play their mind games with you all day; I certainly don't have anything better to do with my time.'_

'Then what do you expect me to do?!' Atemu roared in his mind, before pushing Yami forcefully out. He was given two choices, he was just making due with what he had. He would go with option one.

The black heart that was Atemu's essence didn't like the way things were looking. From Fates hand, he could feel Hikari agree with him. _'But what can we do?' _The pure heart asked, distressed. The black heart merely cackled. He had sowed the seeds of doubt in Atemu's mind already; he just needed to give his host one more push. _'Leave it to me!' _

He didn't like how the two sisters were playing with one of his masters', Atemu didn't know enough to make the right choice. So as carefully as it could, the heart of darkness unleashed the light inside him.

Just as Atemu was getting ready to open his mouth and say 'one', a startling image flashed through his mind.

The most beautiful, shimmering violet eyes stared at him; impossibly long, dark lashes fluttered around the orbs, giving the boy an angelic appearance. A sweet smile adorned soft rounded cheeks. Blond bangs fell stubbornly over the wide amethyst gems, making full pink lips curve into a cute pout as they tried vainly to blow away a golden lock. Atemu felt his mouth go dry as he remembered those soft lips moving against his.

This was a memory he had hidden deep in his heart before it was robbed from him.

"Yugi..." He breathed, in awe of his soul mate.

The two sisters were startled and glared at the hearts, never before had someone been able to remember even a sliver of their life before entering the soul plane. It just didn't happen.

Atemu clutched at the image, unwilling to forget it for even one second. The white and black hearts 'looked' on in smug satisfaction. The tables were turned with Atemu's memory of Yugi.

"His aura has changed." Fate whispered.

Destiny frowned; this was not a part of their plan. She closed her eyes and put a smoky hand on her sister's shoulder. He mind opened and she allowed herself to delve into Atemu's future. She grimaced, their plan would still work, but it would be messy. They had underestimated Atemu's intelligence. He was going to come up with an option neither she, nor her sister had given him.

Oh well, this just made the game all the more interesting.

"Option three." Atemu growled. "You stick Yugi's heart in me and crush mine." He just realized that was what Yami and Hikari were trying to do before Fate and Destiny had interrupted him. "If you crush Yami after you put Hikari in me, my heart will automatically go to Yugi because, ta-da, I'll be 100 alive again."

Fate cursed, her fingers curling around Hikari in anger. "That wasn't an option we gave you!" she protested.

Atemu smirked and wagged a tan finger at her, "No." He disagreed, "You said you would allow me to _choose _how I came back to life." He spread his arms, "So let's get this over with." He bared his pearly white canines in a feral grin. By putting Hikari back into his chest, this would return his body to how it was like before he died memories, love, soul mate, the whole package.

The white heart floated upwards from Fates' hand, the choice had been made.

Hikari snuggled his was back into Atemu's chest. It didn't hurt him like it had the first time, because Atemu accepted him with open arms. The effect was instantaneous bow that Atemu's both had been restored. Memories flooded through his mind, breaking off in flashes, only to return seconds later. Soon, he remembered everything, and he was disgusted with himself that he almost gave Yugi up to spare himself a few moments of pain. He was ashamed.

Destiny looked at him calmly, her fingers already curled and tensed around his heart. Yami sent Atemu a reassuring wave of emotion, signaling he was ready to be shipped off to Yugi.

"Are you prepared?" The older sister demanded in angry, clipped tones.

Atemu nodded, "I am."

"Good." Destiny sneered.

And in one swift motion, she crushed his heart.  
-

Atemu was gone, a long with all traces of the two hearts. Fate and Destiny looked at each other smugly. "Well, that could have gone better..." Fate sighed, she turned around. "But we still have our secret weapon."

"You can come out now." She called cheerfully.

An irritated voice game from behind her, "It was about time." It said coldly, "I don't see why you just didn't allow me to kill him then and there."

Destiny turned towards the man and frowned, "Because we brought you back to life." She snapped, "You will obey our plan."

The man narrowed his mismatched eyes at the sisters. A cold smile drew itself against his regal face.

"For now," Dartz replied.

-

**((passes out)) COME ON! SHOW ME SOME LOVE! TWENTY FREAAAAKING pages! If that's not good, then hell. I don't know WHAT IS! ((Gets up and dances)) C'mon, C'mon! Show me the love! Drop a review! I firmly believe I deserve it after typing over 7,000 words in one chapter!**

((fans self)) Wow, this was crazy. I originally had something entirely different written down for this chapter. But as I was sitting on the toilet, I thought of the idea with the hearts, and their two personalities –Yami and Hikari.

REVIEW!


	10. Justice verses Truth

**Alright, I don't have much to say... Reaaaaally, I don't. So please read and review! Sorry if this wasn't that great.**

Disclaimer: I don't own YuGiOh, or the Mulanish rip.

-

Two figures could be seen stumbling across the desert to the Valley of the Kings. Or at least one was. Seth, the god of the desert had ordered the sand to clear a path for him, leaving the other figure he was dragging along to fend for himself.

The unpleased figure was Hapi; a blue skinned fat god who controlled the Nile. Although right now, he didn't look very happy, "You can't just ask me to drain the Nile!" He whined, trying to fight against the iron grip Seth had on him.

The god of destruction smiled wickedly. "Pray tell, who's asking?"

Hapi gulped. Seth was renowned for his temper and streak of psychotic madness. Some believed he was the incarnation of evil himself –Apep. In their mortal lives, it had been Seth who killed Osiris. Kill as in cut-his-body-into-tiny-pieces kill. It had also been he, who gouged out Horace's eye. It had been _he _who dragged Hapi out to the Valley of the Kings –Which was a graveyard in a sense, to ask... no _command _of him to do his bidding.

The _'Or else' _hung heavy in the air. 

Needless to say, Hapi was terrified. There were few who would stand up against Seth, Horace being one of them. And since Seth was apparently here because of a favor for Horace –Surprise, surprise; Hapi doubted he was likely to come flying to his rescue.

While Hapi bemoaned his situation, Seth had been staring coldly into the Niles' flooded water. He had no reflection; he had apparently committed too many sins in his past life. Go figure. He didn't feel lonely though, Only Isis, Horace –that do-gooder, Ma'at, Osiris and Ra had reflections. And if you weren't one of those gods, well it sucked to be you.

Well... there was Fate too, but she wasn't really a goddess. No, she and Destiny had been on the earth since time began. They had a slight advantage over the gods –and it annoyed Ra to no end.

"I can't do it Seth!" Hapi whined in his ear. Seth angrily pushed him away. "I can't unflood the Nile; the people of Egypt would hate me!" He said tearfully.

Seth yanked him up by his golden robes, red eyes flashing angrily, "Quit your bitching!" he hissed, "Who would you rather hate you? A few weak and completely harmless mortals? Or me?" His eyes glowed from red to white for emphasis. Of course Seth would never actually hurt Hapi –the glowing red eyes were just for effect, but the god of the Nile certainly didn't need to know that. "Besides, I don't want you to drain the Nile..."

Hapi sighed in relief.

"–I just want you to clean it up."

Hapi paled, and an automatic stream of excuses began to tremble on his lips. Seth sighed, _how _Hapi became a god was a question that rivaled the difficulty of the Sphinx's riddle. "I'm not asking much." He said kindly –out of character. He figured Hapi would be easier to manipulate if Seth started being just a tad bit kinder to him... Of course, his sweet tone caused Hapi to stop in his tracks. Seizing this chance, Seth pressed on. "If we wait any longer, the bodies from the war will begin to decay; contaminating the water." He put as much fake, dripping concern in his voice as possible. "Think of the little children... Do it for them." He half pleaded, half choked.

Hapi's eyes widened.

_'Holy shit, don't tell me he's actually buying this crap_,' Seth thought in alarm.

Sure enough, the blue-skinned god's eyes began to water with unshed tears. "S-Seth, I never knew you-you cared so much!" He flung himself against Seth's waist and began to weep dramatically. The god of chaos resisted the urge to throw Hapi off, and smite him into an eternity of pain. The jackal in him liked the idea –as did the rational side, but his common sense told him that hurting the pudgy blue man would not earn him any favors. 

He jerkily put his arm around Hapi in a half-hearted attempt to consol him. After two awkward doggy-pats to his shoulder, Seth all but threw the smaller god off him. "Get a hold of yourself!" He snarled –So much for being kind. Luckily, Hapi was too busy wiping a lone tear from his eye. He offered the jackal god a watery smile –which was returned with a scowl, and sniffled. "You don't have to act tough anymore; it must be so hard to keep up a front like that all the time!" He made another attempt to hug Seth, but this time the god was ready. He swiftly side-stepped and covered up his actions by pretending to be interested in a clot of dirt by his foot. 

Horace owed him big time for this, "Right, so how about saving the little children?" Personally, the children could be Ammit-snacks for all he cared. He just wanted to grab Atemu's body and be on his merry little way.

Well, maybe he would kick Hapi into the Nile first and _then _be on his way.

"Oh right, the children!" Hapi blustered. Then he stopped, confused. "What am I supposed to do again?"

Seth pinched the bridge of his nose, "Get. The. Bodies. Out." If doing good deeds were this much stress and trouble, Seth would just leave the job to someone who suffered from a hero-complex. 

"Oh right!"

Hapi moved to the edge of the Nile and outstretched his hands. He began to chant.

_"Bodies wasted, and Bodies gone,  
Return the defeated corpses to whence they belong!"_

For a moment nothing happened. "Well?" Seth snapped. Hapi held out a hand. "Wait for it..."

They didn't have to wait for long, because all of a sudden it seemed as if the ground itself had split open. From the Nile, thousands of hundreds of bodies surged forth into the air. Immediately, Seth raised his hands and called upon the sands to catch the bodies. Quickly, his red eyes began searching for the tan figure he knew he'd find gasping for breath.

"What are you going to do with them?" Hapi asked. 

"Bury them." He replied absently. Hapi gave Seth a sympathetic pat on the back –which was completely ignored. "You'd grieve even for the enemy?" He sniffled, "You're such a tender soul..."

Seth rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, my heart bleeds for them." Hapi nodded, so caught up in a wave of emotions, he didn't even notice when Seth's sarcasm went whistling past his ear. The oblivious Hapi noticed something amiss about the bodies though. His eyes widened.

Seth, with a sinking feeling in his stomach, followed his gaze.

There was Atemu, his face flush and alive with color, dripping water from his strong arms and golden bangs. He moaned softly. Apparently, his soul was having trouble returning to its body.

"Hey..." Hapi whispered. "Isn't that-"

Before he could finish the sentence, Seth kicked Hapi face first into the Nile. Then, he unceremoniously dumped all of the bodies –with the exception of Atemu, back into the river. Piling one on top of the other all stacked on Hapi.

"See you later!" He yelled. The sand around his feet shifted, lifting both he and Atemu into the air. They hung there for a moment before the sand carried them away. To what was once known as Upper Egypt.

-

Okay, so there were a few flaws in Atemu's plan. First off, he was still stuck in the underworld. That kind of put a damper on his attempt to return immediately to his body. The second point was standing between him and the exit to his freedom. Problem was it was a very VERY big problem.

Two angry gods.

Anubis and Osiris to be exact.

They stood absolutely still, their arms folded over their bare, muscled chests, "It looks as if Horace was telling the truth." Anubis rumbled, deep in his throat.

"Yes" Osiris looked pained, "I'll have to apologize to him."

Atemu tried to shift to the side, his ruby eyes never leaving the gods. Anubis snapped his jackal head in the prince's direction, "Looks like he's trying to get away." He growled. _'Captain Obvious strikes again'_ Atemu thought half-heartedly, forgetting that they were projected in this plane. Anubis growled, Osiris looked slightly amused. The smile fell away almost instantly though.

"Playtime is over, it's time for you to go ahead and die." Osiris grabbed a hold of Atemu's forearm. He stopped, dropping it with a curse. "What is it?" Anubis demanded. He too attempted to grab hold of the prince; only to stumble backwards, gasping in pain.

"His soul is still alive!" He snarled. The hand Anubis used turned an angry red in color before erupting into thousands of pus filled boils. Atemu winced.

Great, he had just royally pissed off the two gods of death. If they weren't already trying to kill him, they were certainly going to attempt it –and probably succeed now.

"I'm assuming you two are trying to drag my soul back into shadows." Atemu sighed.

"Who's Captain Obvious _now_?" Anubis growled. Already his hand had begun to heal, leaving his skin the same black color it had been before. Atemu pretended to be in bock-thought. Maybe if he played his cards right, he'd be able to walk free. It was worth a shot, the prince reasoned, even if it most likely wouldn't work. "Well sadly, it seems you two can't touch someone who has life."

Anubis tightened his hold on the staff grasped in his hands, "That can be easily remedied." He warned lowly.

"Yes," Atemu agreed, "You could easily kill me, without a doubt in my mind..." Anubis looked triumphant, "-Except that you can't kill anyone while down in the domain of the dead." By the look and Anubis' face, Atemu could tell that his argument was valid.

Anubis was stumped at first, but there was no way he'd let a soul just pass through, especially not the one of a prince.

"So then we will wait!" He snapped, "Your body will decay and turn to dust long before we even get tired of waiting!"

Atemu nodded solemnly, "Oh yes, because it wouldn't be a _complete _waste of time to stay here, neglect all of your duties, and fail to weigh the souls of hundreds, if not thousands of the dead." It probably wasn't the best idea to patronize the guide to the next life, so Atemu dropped the act and picked up his next favorite. Sarcasm. "Yes, I can really see how one soul will profit you." He rolled his eyes. Part of it was an act. The other part was his fed up attitude over all the gods jumping into his life, pissing on it, and then running away laughing.

"You dare-" Anubis thundered. Osiris cut him with a raised hand, "Calm yourself Anubis," His bronze eyes glinted with interest. "The boy is right." Anubis looked as though he had been told he wasn't allowed to embalm people anymore. "B-But Osiris!"

"I wonder though..." He fired Atemu with a wicked smile, "If our dear princely friend has noticed the effects of Limbo yet?" 

Busted.

Truth was Atemu had noticed the effects shortly after Hikari had entered his body. His soul had been growing more and more exhausted as he pressed on towards the exit. Atemu figured this was part of the aging process. Time passed three times more quickly in Limbo then it did in the real world. Two hours here, could mean two weeks in the physical plane. Atemu had been in Limbo for about thirty minutes.

Osiris circled around Atemu's still form. "Your soul is deteriorating as we speak." His bronze eyes smiled at the alarmed look on Atemu's face. "A soul is different then a spirit."

Sensing that the god was just begging to explain, Atemu complied. "How so?" He asked cautiously. As of now, a spirit and soul both seemed to possess the same properties.

Those bronze eyes glowed with mirth, "A soul can still feel things while it's not in its physical body. A spirit cannot. A soul can travel through different planes, a spirit cannot." He smiled. "A soul cannot live a week without its body, A spirit doesn't need one."

Atemu gulped at the implications. "And what happens to the soul if it passes the one week mark?" This was information vital to him, he had already spent about half a week in Limbo.

"They completely cease to exist."

-

Horace flew in small circles towards the opening of the underworld. If he was to guess what Seth was to do to help his cause, He would say the god of chaos was attempting to retrieve the prince's body.

His golden eye zeroed in on the entrance, his job was to make sure the soul reached the body in time. 

Well, after what he was about to do, he wasn't sure if Osiris would disown him or not.

He plunged headfirst into hell.

-

Many times Atemu was sorely tempted to make a break for the exit. The only thing holding him in his spot being the glare Anubis constantly sent him, occasionally accompanied by cracking knuckles as he re-gripped his scary looking staff.

Looking to make conversation, Atemu eyed the weapon warily, "You know you can't kill me with that, so why threat?" He voiced, clearly wondering why the jackal god insisted on holding the weapon.

Anubis' reply was a toothy smirk, fangs, canines, and incisors all bared, "You'd be surprised what you can live through."

Atemu decided to shut up after that.

-

Minutes passed, and again Atemu felt the experience that he was drowning in sleep. Atemu's chin touched his chest, growing more and more exhausted. Crimson eyes began to slide shut, despite his heart that hammered violently in his chest.

Anubis smirked in victory.

...Only a few more seconds left...

CRASH!

Atemu blinked sleepily and rubbed his eyes.

CRASH!

Osiris groaned. There was only one person who was tactless enough to make that much noise...

"Hola, mi familia!" A voice shouted in Spanish. Cracks began to form on the ceiling of the underworld, light filtering through the fissures. Horace, arms spread like wings, came crashing through the ceiling. Debris and rock fell onto the three unsuspecting figures.

"Hey!" The falcon god greeted them. He looked admirably at the destruction he caused before adding a sheepish, "I can fix that..."

Osiris pushed a giant piece of rubble before standing up in a towering rage. "What in all blazes of time are you doing here Horace!?" He screeched at his son. Anubis got to his feet and shot a venomous look at his rival. "Trying to free your little jail bird?" He barked.

Horace grabbed onto Atemu's arm. Surprisingly enough, he was allowed to touch him. "Right you are my fine, flea-bitten friend!" Horace said in clipped tones, "Atemu is still alive, therefore you two-" His eyes narrowed at the gods of death, "-Have no right to take his soul."

Osiris looked at his challenging son and tried to speak calmly. It came out as a barely contained growl, "He is in our land, which makes him _our_ property!"

Horace's grip on Atemu's shoulder tightened painfully.

"Well, why don't we see about that?" He hissed. He turned away, dragging Atemu along with him.

Things were happening too fast for Atemu to keep up. "Where are we going?" Atemu asked, confused beyond all belief, "Are you a part of the 'Lets kill Atemu' cult too?" He asked sourly.

So far whenever a god dragged him off somewhere, it usually ended up horribly for the prince in the end. 

Horace looked at him in unconcealed amusement, "Nope, I'm the only one in the bleachers holding a giant Styrofoam finger with your face on it." Horace pondered for a moment. Atemu gave him a confused look. "Eh, never mind; it's after your time anyway..."

Atemu looked at the friend gold, struggling for something to say, "You never answered my first question."

Horace nodded to himself, "We're going to get your soul weighed on the scales of Ma'at."

Freeze. "I thought you said you were on my side!" Atemu accused, ripping his arm from the gods'. Horace blinked, "Oh, no!" He shook his head and clicked his beak reassuringly, "Not to see if you'll be fed to Ammit or not, but to see if your heart is alive." He clarified. "Of course it's already alive," He said confidently, "We could really just go ahead and leave." His look darkened, "But my stubborn father and brother are too blind to see that for themselves!"

"Who are you calling blind?" Anubis snapped from behind them, "Last time _I _checked, I still had both _my _eyes."

They stood in front of the scales of Ma'at. Huge and brass, it stood taller then three men stacked on top of each other's shoulders. A golden feather rested on one side of the scales, the other was empty. They were perfectly balanced. Atemu gulped, aware of what the test of Ma'at entailed. It seemed just like yesterday when he answered the riddle about Ammit's cave in Yugi's training session. He had no measure of time, and even though it felt like it was yesterday, it also felt like he took it centauries ago. 

It struck him odd that the scales of Justice were now going to judge his fate. No matter what the two sisters of time had said, they couldn't possible have power over justice itself. Life, Death, Sterility, Fertility, Evil, Good, Chaos, and Order; those were all things that they could control. But justice? Was that something they could bend to their will? Despite all their power, justice remained untouchable.

Even though this might mean he wasn't meant to live again, the idea comforted him slightly. For the longest time, Atemu was beginning to feel like things were out of his hands. Like he no longer possessed a choice to how to live his life. He felt like a brainless puppet, dancing to a tuneless song in the hands of a marionette. That wasn't a feeling he wanted to deal with if he lived. Constantly looking over his shoulder for a god that wanted to screw with his life.

He knew what he had to do, and he didn't bother to listen to Osiris' explanation. Atemu approached the scales, ready to accept his fate. Whether that meant he lived or died, he would let Justice take things into her hands.

As he climbed onto the brass plate, each other the gods were confident that the scaled would tip in their favor. Osiris and Anubis for Atemu's death, Horace for his life. 

A soft whistle rushed past Atemu's ears, and a gentle whistle sang to him. _So willing to trust a goddess you can't see? _

Without opening his eyes, Atemu nodded. He knew the voice belonged to Ma'at, the goddess of justice. _Justice is fair, and right. It cannot be corrupt._

This is true...

Atemu felt a feather soft touch creep against his cheek and trail over his eyelids. _Open your eyes... _

Atemu complied, ruby eyes sliding open. A brilliant light flashed, and the scales shuddered and gave a frightening lurch...  
...But did not tip...

Horace gave a shout of joy as he helped Atemu off the scale. The prince, slightly dazed at his encounter with the goddess, could barely contain his gratitude. Anubis and Osiris were dumbstruck, pure egg on their face. Atemu, along with a cheery good-bye from Horace left the two gods, as they disappeared from the entrance of Limbo.

_Atemu was alive_.

-

**Yeah, yeah. It's NO WHERE near as long as my previous chapter! I had to break it down to fit it into one chapter. ((Huffs and pouts)) My editor would kill me if I wrote a chapter as freakishly long as the last one. ((Sways back and forth)) **

Okay... ((glowers at editor)) We both somehow manage to miss each other on the computer. So once again, please bear with the un-beta-not-so-nice version. 

**  
I hope you enjoyed it (Despite my horrible grammar). Please read and review!**


	11. The Calm before the Storm

**Disclaimer: I don't own YuGiOh or Mulan**

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Seth was resting in a temple when he heard the first sounds of stirring. His red eyes focused on the mortal in front of him, grunting in the effort it took to regain his consciousness. This was most likely an experience he would never forget as long as he lived. Crimson eyes creaked open, and Seth scowled, "Well well, look whose back."

Atemu took one look at Seth's jackal head and leapt to his feet, his hand already reaching for the sword strapped to his side. Seth, mildly surprised and angry at Atemu's reaction, reached for his own weapon. A wicked looking staff with a metal tip curved and dipped in gold. It was very much like Anubis' but not quite the same. "Are you Atemu?" He demanded slowly. There was always a small chance that another soul could have escaped into Atemu's body.

Atemu didn't reply his only acknowledgement was his eyes narrowing at the mention of his name. He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, against a god, it was probably best to strike first and ask questions later. He jumped forward to escape; just Horace appeared, in the most blinding flash of light ever. He was slightly disheveled with feathers from his arms sticking out at odd angles. Oblivious to the two men at-odds, he began to preen himself to attempt to look more presentable.

When he was finished, he allowed the feathers to shrink and melt back into his skin, he glanced upward, and with a squawk of embarrassment he realized Atemu and Seth had been watching him groom himself the entire time. 

"Can't a guy get a little privacy around here?" He all but snapped. Seth summoned a fist sized ball of sand to slam itself into Horace's good eye.

At his outraged look, Seth clarified, "Stupidity needs to be punished."

The god of life screeched in pain and anger before tackling the god of chaos to the floor. They wrestled for a moment, occasionally screaming out a few choice profanities. Alarmed, the prince jumped into the tussle, not wanting either to become seriously injured –they the only ones who seemed to have any idea what the heck was going on. It took Atemu to forcefully pry his fingers into the grooves of Horace's head piece before the god even notice Atemu was trying to separate them.

"What?" Horace snipped heatedly. Atemu glared at the sky god before directing it to Seth –who was now supporting a black eye. "Is this Anubis?" He demanded, a tan hand drifting back over to the hilt of his black-sword. The two gods both blinked in surprise, peeling off each other long enough to have a better chance to stare at the prince in bewilderment.

"What makes you think that?!" Seth all but shouted, outrage pouring off him in waves, "Anubis is a fool who has nothing better to do other then terrorize the souls he's leading to death!"

"This cheerful fellow is Seth," Horace said dryly, "He's been watching over your body while you were M.I.A."

Atemu stared at the raging god suspiciously before letting his hand drift away from the weapon, "Nice to meet you." He lied. Seth only huffed and moved to sulk in a corner. So far Horace had proven to be trustworthy –that didn't mean Atemu trusted him though. Too many people had tried to do him in during the last twenty-four hours...

Horace, noticing his apprehension chuckled, "Keep your sword drawn if it makes you feel better. Personally, I don't think I would trust myself either." 

Atemu nodded, but didn't unsheathe his blade. Hesitantly, he glanced into Horace's golden eye, Seth's red ones and asked, "Where are we?" 

"We are at my temple in Upper Egypt." Seth responded flatly.

Atemu's heart leapt to his throat. "That means we're near Cairo!" He exclaimed excitedly.

Seth gave a noncommittal nod. "Yes, but Ra has almost been swallowed, it would be too dangerous..." He eyed Atemu with distaste, "...For a mortal to be out and about at night."

Atemu glared heatedly at Seth, "I'm not a child!" He barked, "I can handle mere bandits and thieves on my own."

Horace shook his head, "For once I agree with Seth." He moved and gave Atemu's shoulder a gentle push. The prince gave a surprising wobble, his knees buckling from underneath him. "Wha-?" He said in alarm. His traitorous legs collapsed like putty, causing Seth to have to catch him by the scruff of his collar. "Damn..." He murmured, embarrassed by his weakness.

Seth set him down, "There's no use traveling when you just gained use of your body." The jackal god sighed, "I may have kept your body well nourished, but that doesn't change the fact that you haven't moved in a little less then a week." Horace nodded, tossing Atemu the golden cloak he had wrapped around his shoulders.

Atemu caught it, surprisingly pleased to find the fabric was very warm and comfortable. "Thanks..." The prince mumbled, sensing the end to the argument. Even he, with his infamous hard-headed thinking, could not help but see the truth behind Seth's argument. He'd just have to wait another week to see his father.

And Yugi.

He growled in irritation before curling into a ball, pulling Horace's cloak with him. The two gods shared amused looks at the prince's pouting before turning in for the night themselves.

"We'll head out in the morning." Horace promised. Seth gave him a skeptical look. The falcon shrugged.

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_  
"And where do you think you're going?"_

"I have some unfinished business to attend to."

"And what should I say when he wakes up-," a jerk to show location, "-And finds that you're gone."

"Tell him the truth."

"That you're going to see his father?"

"Of course."

"He'll be upset that you aren't taking him with you."

"I'm sure he'll live."

"Says you, I'm the one who has to watch the brat and listen to him whine."

Horace looked up at the sky before sprouting his wings. Seth looked on, completely unfazed. "You're made out of tougher stuff; one teenager isn't going to kill you."

Seth scowled before glancing back at the sleeping form of Atemu, "What are you planning?" He asked softly.

Horace looked up, surprised. Then continuing mischievously, he laughed, "Pray tell Seth, when did you get so good at reading me?"

Seth gave an unintelligible grunt. 

"Don't get too comfortable," Horace warned, "If I know Fate and Destiny-"

"-Which you don't." Seth interrupted.

"IF I know them..." Horace snapped.

"Please continue."

Horace spread his arms, enjoying the cold night wind rustling through his feathers. Nut was in her fifth month of pregnancy. He closed his eyes, "This is just the calm before the storm."

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A loud screech followed by what seemed to be a howl of pain was what awoke Atemu the following morning. Adrenaline pumping, the prince sprang to his feet, black sword already drawn. At the entrance, two jackals wrestled, one black and the other dark red. When Atemu recognized the black dog to be Anubis, his stomach dropped.

They were both horribly injured, but Atemu wasn't worried. The gods healed quickly, he remembered Anubis' burnt hand when the god had attempted to drag him to his death. This might have made them a bit arrogant in fighting though. Seth was bleeding from gashed on his muzzle and sides, Anubis bleeding from his flanks and throat.

They bit and clawed at each other, both swinging massive paws lined with metal claws. Seth lurched forward, sinking his deadly fangs into the tender groove of Anubis' throat. If it was possible to kill the god of death, Anubis would have long since been dead.

The black jackal twisted away, his claws digging into the soft sand of the temple. But Seth had him where he wanted him; Atemu could see that from his angle of watching.

The sand lifted up, encasing the god of death and trapping his movement.

Once Seth was sure the snarling god could not escape, he morphed back to his original form. He rubbed hi muzzle and turned around, spotting Atemu for the first time, "How long have you been here for?" He snapped.

Atemu shrugged, keeping a firm grip on his sword, "Long enough." He answered vaguely.

He moved to get a better look at the squirming jackal. Anubis froze when he caught sight of Atemu, growling low in his throat. He seemed to be trying to say something to the prince, because Seth had gained a sour expression on his face.

"What did he say?" Atemu asked.

"He says 'I want to speak with you privately, I don't want any half-wit mutts trailing around to act like a guard dog.'" Seth translated. His mouth curved into a snarl, "Say no." He hissed.

Atemu ignored him. There was obviously a reason why the god had decided to venture out into the land of the living. Despite the obvious reason of wanting to Atemu, he should have something slightly important to say. Or so he hoped, "Yes, I'll speak with you privately."

Anubis looked surprised, Seth however looked furious. He grabbed Atemu by the shoulders and shook him roughly. "Are you insane?" He barked, "He just wants to 'talk' so he can kill you! He couldn't do it before because you were in the underworld, might I remind you, that was the only thing stopping him before?!"

"The thought has crossed my mind," Atemu said evenly, "But you'll find that I don't die easily." His grip tightened on his blade.

Seth narrowed his red eyes, "Oh and I suppose the first time was just a fluke!" He snapped sarcastically. The god of Chaos stormed away, dropping Anubis on some of the harder parts of the temple. He fell with a yelp, and then morphed back into a more humanoid appearance.

"Jerk," He growled. Atemu stretched out a hand to help the god back to his feet. Anubis looked at it warily before accepting it.

"I could say the same about you," Atemu said shortly, his sword never leaving his hand.

"Me?" He looked offended, "I was just doing my job."

"Yes, because in this case, I'm sure the ends justified the means." Atemu shot back, "But I don't wish to get involved with the matter of my death... again. What was it that you wanted to _talk_ about?"

"Shortly after you left-"

Which translated to 'seconds'. The time difference between the realm of the living and dead –Limbo, was hard to forget.

"–We realized someone else was attempting to escape Limbo as well."

Atemu narrowed his eyes, what did that have to do with him? "I'm assuming you dragged the person back to death kicking and screaming." Anger flared in his eyes, "Or do you mean to say they escaped into the realm of the living, like me? And you're telling me this because you believe I helped them?" 

"No, I don't believe you helped him..." Anubis looked down, "I _tried _to let this one get by,"

Now Atemu was confused. The prince quirked an eyebrow, surprised, "And you couldn't?" He was again reminded of Anubis' blistering hand –it was becoming one of those memories that brought a smile to his face every time he remembered it, would the same thing apply here? And why would the god of death want someone to escape from limbo?

Anubis looked away, refusing to meet Atemu's eyes, "No... I was able to stop him... just barely." He hesitated. Why was Anubis bothering to tell him all this? "He wanted to pass along a message..."

His intuition sparked, and with it understanding, "I know this person don't I?" He said slowly, "That's why you're so hesitant to look me in the eye." Atemu felt tension fill the room, if it was from Anubis or himself, he didn't know. Ice began to flow through his veins. Someone he knew had died... And he –his thoughts automatically flew to Yugi, had tried to come back to life to tell him something.

Anubis looked stricken, once again unable to meet Atemu's crimson gaze, "Who was it?" The prince demanded a bubble of fear swelling in his chest.

Horace burst into the room, wild eyed. He was so hell-bent on reaching Atemu; he didn't even notice Anubis standing next to him. "A-Atemu!" He gasped, "The palace is under attack!" 

The feeling in the prince's stomach flared sickeningly, "Tell me..." He ordered in a faint whisper.

The jackal finally met his gaze, unmistaken guilt on his face.

"Aknaunkanon." 

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Yugi pulled at the ropes that had rubbed his wrists raw. He was currently in a cell with Ryou, and an unconscious and bleeding Jounichi. The blond was by the albino's side, Ryou refusing to let his friend go when they were thrown in their prison. Yugi had been roughly tossed to the other side of the cell, stuck in a shadowed corner. At first he was angry that he had been separated from his friends, he decided to use the cover of shadows to unbind himself.

Now he was attempting to pull one part of a small blade from his leather wrist guard. It was fairly hard considering that the guards were tied together and he's probably end up slitting his wrist if he tried. He gave up the attempt and moved on the ground to try to pull out a blade he had on his ankle brace.

"What are you doing?" Ryou's soft voice came from across the cell. Yugi couldn't see him, but he could bet that Ryou had a bewildered look on his face.

Yugi smiled dryly, "As of now Ryou, I'm rolling on the dirt." He whispered back.

Ryou allowed himself a small smile; he had noticed the change in Yugi's character ever since they had reached the palace. It was like he had his old friend back. Even though they were in a slightly life threatening situation, Ryou felt happy for the moment he watched Yugi roll around on the ground. 

Yugi felt along the edges of his ankle braces, wincing as he felt his shoulder pop from the odd position he was putting himself in. Just when he was going to give up, getting him in a better position, a sharp pain shot through his fingers.

A smile of triumph spread across Yugi's flushed cheeks. Instead of pulling away like his fingers wanted, he wrapped them securely around the blade and pulled it out from the pouch he had slipped it in. Retrieving his prize, he proceeded to saw at the ropes that bound him. Once his feet were free, he worked on his hands.

Escaping wasn't really his motif, more so Bakura's, but the albino wasn't here at the moment –if he was, he'd probably scold Yugi for his escape tactics.

"Hang on Ryou," Yugi hissed, struggling to his feet. Silently, he crept over towards Ryou, who looked at his hands in alarm. "You're bleeding!"

"'Tis just a flesh wound.'" Yugi quoted, before sawing carefully at Ryou's ropes.

"'Flesh wound'? You're bleeding from your arms and legs!" The albino whispered frantically. Yugi rolled his eyes, "Oh stop being so concerned, you're sounding like a mother hen."

"And you're sounding like Bakura! Stop it!" Yugi winced, "Good point." He conceded before working on his ankles. When Ryou was free, he checked over Yugi's wounds quickly, before turning his attention to Jounichi.

Ryou desperately was trying to stem the flow of blood oozing from a deep gash on Jounichi's shoulder. The crimson liquid seeped through his fingers, a stark contrast from the albino's pale skin. "Jou you idiot," Ryou said sadly, "Why do you always have to go down fighting?"

"Hang on Ryou."

Yugi surveyed the groups' injuries as a whole, deciding traveling was necessary and not completely impossible. Ryou was supporting a dark bruise on his left cheek that was fast turning black. Yugi winced inwardly; a black bruise usually meant the blow had connected to the bone itself. Ryou would have the bruise for a while, but he didn't seem to notice. 

"Did you see Bakura?" He asked anxiously. Yugi shook his head sadly. Unfortunately, Bakura and Seto had been separated after they had tried to defend Ryou and Jounichi from some of the harsher attacks.

Seto was forcibly dragged to the floor, pinned there as he watched his blonde pup be dragged away, limp and bleeding. Bakura was knocked unconscious when he surged forth in hot anger after witnessing one of the guards strike Ryou. They hadn't seen them since.

_'This was all so avoidable,' _Yugi thought sadly, as he watched Ryou's hopeful expression shatter. Amethyst eyes closed, _'If only I had noticed the signs...'_

  
_The company stood in front of the Pharaoh. Each soldier was caught up in the beauty and magnificence of the hall in which they stood. Awestruck, they stared at the royal figures, all standing proudly at the sides of the pharaoh. A few men shifted uncomfortably under the cerise gaze of their ruler. Yugi paid no attention of the grandiose palace, his eyes riveted on the Egyptian king._

Looking at him, Yugi realized that the pharaoh looked nothing like his son, the only resemblance was from their matching crimson eyes: slanted and exotic. Yugi felt his heart twist.

Although unaware of it at the time, Aknaunkanon's eyes were fixated on the tiny captain as well. A tall falcon rested on his shoulder, nipping affectionately at his ear –as though trying to catch the king's attention. He muttered softly to the bird, which ruffled its feathers in indignation before flying off.

Without waiting so much for the results of the war to be announced, he beckoned Yugi forth. Embarrassed, Yugi walked forward –unaware of the stares that followed his gaunt.

The pharaoh clapped a tan hand on Yugi's shoulder and hugged him to his side, preventing the captain from so much as twitching a finger. "Rejoice! My son has returned from war! Here is Atemu!"

Yugi felt his eyes widen in shock, he opened his mouth to correct the king, but the tan hand gripping his shoulder tightened warningly. The pharaoh shook his head fractionally; Yugi noticed the pharaoh's smile was tight and forced. Yugi played along, smiling sheepishly and waving. He had no idea why the king called him Atemu, but Aknaunkanon obviously knew that he wasn't. He supposed there was a reason behind the madness, so playing along seemed to be the best option. 

Seto and the others watched dumbfounded. They had noticed the pharaoh's fake smile, and Yugi's extreme nervousness. They shrugged, knowing their captain probably knew what was best for them. They clapped and cheered along with the rest of the confused company, an uneasy feeling settling in their stomachs.

"Now if you will excuse me, I have to congratulate my son for his stunning defeat of those accursed Libyans!" Aknaunkanon boomed happily, steering Yugi to a room behind his throne.

As they passed the council, Yugi looked at each of the members in confusion. They were smiling at Yugi. A mixture of dread and horror was etched on their faces. Apparently, they weren't expecting Atemu to come back. Well they were right,_ Yugi thought sadly, _Atemu is dead...

Once they were out of sight, and Aknaunkanon released his hold on Yugi's shoulder. He strode over to an oak chest, before sitting down on it, "We don't have a lot of time captain Mouto." He said seriously. Yugi was startled; he didn't expect the pharaoh to have known who he was. Aknaunkanon smiled thinly. "I am well informed." He said vaguely.

He motioned for Yugi to come closer, "I'm afraid I won't live past this meeting." He said grimly. Yugi frowned, "What makes you say that sire?" He asked in concern. The pharaoh's smile didn't waver. He didn't answer.

"You love my son do you not?"

Yugi felt a bolt of electricity shoot through him. "How-?"

"I am well informed." He repeated.

Yugi looked away, his heart tearing into pieces. "I-I... Yes... Well sire, I l-loved your son..."

Aknaunkanon frowned, "And you don't anymore? Why not? Is he not good enough for your standards?" A hint of a smile played in his tone. Yugi felt saddened.

"Sire... Atemu is... Well, he's no longer..."

"Alive? Yugi, surely you don't believe a simple thing like being crushed by a broken pyramid, and submerged under the Nile would stop my son." Aknaunkanon scolded. "It was not Atemu's time to die."

Yugi stared at the Pharaoh, beginning to wonder about his sanity. He could hardly dare to believe Atemu was still alive. He didn't want his heart to be shredded violently once again. "Y-your highness... What are you saying..?"

Aknaunkanon's face grew grave as he stared at the doorway. Shadows could be seen moving among the long archways. "I am giving you my blessing Yugi." He said softly, he reached out to put his hand on the soft spikes of the captain's head. "Tell Atemu that I love him."

A tremendous bang echoed off the walls no sooner then the words had left his mouth. A falcon screeched a warning in the distance. Six men from the pharaoh's council burst forth from the doorway, silver blades clutched in their hands. Jounichi, Seto, Bakura and Ryou sprinted into the room after them, each one holding his sword.

One of the councilmen was Akunadin, the Pharaoh's younger brother. He sprang towards Aknaunkanon, his sword flashing with deadly intent. 

Aknaunkanon calmly stood up in a fluid motion, the chest he was sitting on was kicked open to reveal two swords. One was tossed to Yugi, who caught the blade and parried Akunadin's attack. He reacted on instinct, violet eyes narrowed in misunderstanding, "What the hell?!"

Akunadin cursed and lashed out with his blade. He was fast, but Yugi was limber. He twisted away from the attack and attempted to kick out at Akunadin's feet. Akunadin saw what Yugi was trying to do and retreated, "You!" He snarled, spinning his blade in his hands to try and confuse the captain, "You won't get in my way!"

Yugi scowled and pushed his sword against the palms of his hands. He balanced himself on the balls of his feet before springing forward. His sword clashed against Akunadin's, sending them both sprawling to the floor. They rolled on the floor, Yugi at a disadvantage.

Akunadin pinned Yugi to the floor, straddling his waist. "I've got you now you Ra damned jackal!" He snarled before beginning to pound on the tiny captain.

Yugi tried his best to roll with the punches, but from his position it was almost impossible to do. Luckily enough, Akunadin was up their in age, so his assault couldn't last very long before he had to pause for a second. During that second, Akunadin's eyes widened in confusion, "You're not-..."

He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. Yugi's palm shot upward, catching Akunadin from under his chin. The elder was jerked backwards, blood flowing from his mouth from biting his tongue. Yugi rolled away quickly and picked his sword back up.

Wasting no time, the captain leaped forward and put all his weight and strength into his last blow. The sword speared through Akunadin like butter, cutting through muscle and sinew like it was putty. Yugi felt disgusted as crimson liquid began to blossom from the abdominal wound.

Swords clashed around him. Their side appeared to be winning. Seto had taken up his millennium rod –unsheathing the blade hidden in it's stem, and along with his sword was using them both as weapons. Jounichi had long since forgotten his sword and was currently grappling with his combatant. Ryou was fairing well, making quick stabs to his opponent and conserving his strength. Bakura was... well, Bakura. Meaning he was using tricks to confuse his opponent.

All seemed to be going well.

Until Dartz came.

Two glowing and mismatched eyes caught sight of Yugi assisting Ryou. The familiar spikes of hair springing forth a memory still fresh on his mind:

Dartz followed his gaze, his mismatched eyes widening in shock, "You!" He snarled, turning the Atemu in anger. A rock slide had started, raining down upon the Libyan army slightly at first, before crushing the mighty army. Dartz watched as his numbers fell, and he snarled at Atemu. He brought his sword down quickly, seeking vengeance.

_"It's him!" Dartz hissed, snarling. Vengeance on his mind, he hurled himself at Yugi's open back. The captain was unaware of the attack, because of the help he was lending to Ryou. _

He turned –too late, as the point of Dartz's blade was thrust to his stomach. Blood splattered across Yugi's face, amethyst eyes wide in shock.

"N-no..." He whispered.

The Pharaoh stood limply, his form skewered from the attack that was meant for Yugi. The blade sprouted from his back, the tip dripping the king's life's liquid.

"NO!" Yugi screamed, lunging at Dartz. Dartz backhanded the distraught captain, and laughed.

"I was aiming to destroy the one who stole my victory at the Valley" The gold and blue eyes glinted in malice, "But the life of the Pharaoh is simply a much greater reward." The man gave a low chuckled, before twisting the sword in the king's stomach and removing it roughly.

"Egypt is mine!" He roared in laughter.

The pharaoh slipped to the floor, blood rapidly pooling around his form. "Grieve little prince, Grieve!" Dartz laughed, spitting on the dieing body of the pharaoh. "Watch as your father's life is drained from him!"

Yugi didn't bother to correct him as Dartz left to deal with the rest of his company.

Ryou, distracted by the Pharaoh's injury, was struck in the face with the hilt of his opponents' sword. He fell, his eyes squinted in pain. Bakura, who saw Ryou fall, abandoned his fight to aid his love. He stopped Ryou's assailant from delivering a finishing blow to the fallen albino, but he left himself open for his own opponent to land a hit.

Dartz swept towards the wrestling forms of Jou and his attacker, swiftly plunging his sword into Jou's shoulder. The blonde gave an agonized cry of pain before recoiling violently. Seto threw his sword at Jou's attacker to prevent the blonde's death, but was left at a disadvantage with his shorter millennium rod. Soon it was wrestled from his hand and he was taken down as well.

One by one the comrades fell, but Yugi was dead to it all as he strained to catch Aknaunkanon's dieing words.

"He will come back... and when he does... Egypt will be free..." The pharaoh's dieing crimson gaze sought Yugi's, "Remember..." He hissed with his last breathe.

"Remember..."

And with that, the living Horace died.

  
Yugi jerked from his memory, eyes reopening with a snap. He was still in a cell.

The memory pained him, but it gave him hope as well. _Atemu is alive... _He found it hard to believe, almost impossible, but the Pharaoh had thought it to be true hadn't he?

Violet eyes turned towards his comrades. Jounichi was dead asleep or unconscious –it was hard to tell. Ryou seemed to be feigning sleep. That alerted Yugi's senses.

A dark shadow was drifting by their jail cell.

Someone was outside the door.

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The message Anubis had given him from his father rang in Atemu's ears. _I am proud of you. _

Atemu didn't know what to think.

Things were moving so quickly. First he had been brought back to life, taken to some weird temple, been told his father had died, and was now performing some kind of mad dash to Cairo so he could save his love, his country, and possibly a lot of people's lives.

His hand tightened around the ankh shaped key he had retrieved from Yugi's Grandfather. So far, he was at a lost as to what he should do with the object. Once it had been drained of all its shadow magic, it seemed fairly useless.

He sighed and pocketed the oddly shaped object. If he held onto it long enough –there might be some use to it. Besides, it belonged to Yugi's Grandfather; he couldn't just throw it away.

Horace and Seth rode besides him, occasionally one would shoot the prince a side-long look, as if expecting Atemu to break down and go into cardiac arrest. He didn't blame them for their concern; he would probably implode after all of this madness had passed over.

Seth's bloodied eyes narrowed through the darkness. "We've got trouble." He gazed at Cairo.

"Well, what is it?" Horace snapped.

"There's a shield around Cairo." Seth muttered, bringing his horse to a halt. He hesitated before turning to Atemu. The prince had stopped beside him, "You'll have to go ahead without us."

"What?!" Horace screeched, "Bullshit! I was _just _in Cairo! There can't be a shield that prevents us from entering the city!" As though proving a point, he charged forward to the city limits, only to slam headfirst into an invisible wall.

"You've got to be shitting me!"

"I shit you not."

Atemu closed his eyes. He should have known something like this would happen. He dismounted the black stallion he had been riding and shoved the reigns into Seth's waiting hands.

"That's fine by me," He said iceily, "I want to finish what I started." He caught Horace's eye. "Alone." He emphasized.

The sky god closed his beak with a snap before throwing a glare at Seth, "Now look at what you've done!" He accused. Atemu just rolled his eyes in amusement as Seth snorted with irritation.

While the two gods continued to bicker, Atemu slipped away into the city. He wasn't good with things like goodbyes, and if he wasn't going to return –well...

He stalked through the familiar streets, glad for once about the setting sun. The shadows would help hide him, and if by some fluke someone saw him, there would be less of a chance that they would recognize him.

Atemu pressed against the side of a building, sucking in a deep when he heard approaching footsteps.

He almost gasped when he recognized the great lumbering form of Ushio. 

What on earth...?

Gazing further down the road, Atemu noticed the forms of familiar soldiers from Yugi's company patrolling.

_My father has been killed, the castle is under attack, and there are soldiers walking on the streets? _

It didn't add up at first, but after some thinking, he finally put the puzzle pieces together.

Dartz had killed his father.

And by Egyptian rule, whoever kills the current leader, takes his or her place. Atemu had to bite his tongue to prevent himself from groaning at the severity of the problem.

Dartz gained kingship when he killed Aknaunkanon. The armies and towns were his to control.

The company patrolling the streets was probably under orders to keep the citizens in check.

'Tyrant,' Atemu thought in disgust. He kept a straight back and continued his trek to the palace walls.

He always finished what he started. And he would kill Dartz, this time it would be for real.

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**That's it! OKAY OKAY! Moondalian gave me permission to write a chapter up to 5,000 words! I kinda... sorta... JUST BY A LITTLE, went over the limit...**

Just by a little bit... ((hides from beta's wrath))

ONCE AGAIN I was unable to get my Beta to read over this. Sadly, it's because of my Journalism class. ((sighs)) It's killer. So, sorry once again for my horrible grammar...

Here's a blurb for next chapter...

_Sudden inspiration struck Atemu as he picked up the golden bands he had discarded when he first left for war. Sliding them back onto his forearms, he thought this was probably going to be one of his most humiliating ideas as of yet –so therefore that meant it probably was going to work._

It was time to take a chapter out of Mulan Rouge.

**Now for those who don't know what Mulan Rouge is about... Well, it's about prostitutes. Atemu is going to join a harem! And I'm going to introduce a couple of new YGO characters! **_  
_


	12. Reunion

So... Everyone should notice by now that I'm influenced completely by music. ((Yawns)) Beware the Dance! Boogie Wonderland!

**Disclaimer: I don't own YuGiOh or Mulan**

Read and Review

(Special thanks to everyone who helped me figure out what an Egyptian prostitute looked like...)

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Yugi slipped his fingers into the bands on his wrists and withdrew one of the small blades.

"Here," He whispered, handing it to Ryou. The albino carefully took it so he wouldn't prick his fingers on the blade. Quickly, Yugi crouched near the entrance of the jail. Ryou mirrored his movement. As far as their captures were concerned, they were safely tied up in separate corners. They would be unprepared for Yugi and Ryou to attack.

The door swung out silently and three tall figures were silhouetted boldly. In less then a second, Yugi had tackled the taller one around his waist and spun his weapon to his neck. Grunts and scuffling noises had told him that Ryou had done the same. "Yugi, get the hell off me!" An angry whisper came from underneath him. Yugi was surprised the man knew his name, but he didn't remove his blade from the man's neck. Everyone in his company knew who he was, but the guards in the palace should have known him as 'Atemu.' He slowly let his eyes adjust to the dim light. Seto laid on the floor sprawled. He was simmering in the rage of being caught unawares. And by his tiny captain no less.  
"Oh, sorry Seto..." Yugi mumbled while scrambling up off his captain. A violated squeak that came from behind them told Yugi that Ryou had been unfortunate enough to tackle Bakura. Now the pale albino was being happily molested.

"Ryou, I didn't know you were so _excited _to see me," Bakura purred.  
"Get off me Bakura!" Ryou squeaked. His face was the same shade of Bakura's eyes.

The third figure stepped into the cell, looking around pleasantly. "Nice digs" He cackled. He had long sandy hair that had been spiked almost as erratically as Bakura's, lavender eyes that were narrowed permanently with mirth. He was as tan as Atemu, perhaps even more so since Yugi could still tell in the darkened cell.

The man gave a long cackle when he saw the injuries Yugi was supporting, "Little lightsies got smashdies!" He sang, giggling madly. Then he stopped, a look of seriousness crossing his face, "I should get that patented!" He laughed manically then walked out the cell. Seto groaned and slapped his hand against his forehead semi-dramatically, "Do we really _have _to take him with us?" He demanded.

Bakura grimaced and nodded, "He's one of my..." He struggled to find a word to describe what the man was. 'Friend' was much too strong a word, "...contacts from Kul Elna..." Recognition widened Ryou's eyes and he gave a tiny gasp of horror, "Is that... _Mariku_?" He whimpered. Bakura gave him an uncharacteristic smile.

"Oh no..." Ryou groaned, "By the will of Ra, please save us all..."

Yugi looked at the albino's in confusion, "I don't get it..." He said, "Sure he's sort of weird, but I don't see what's wrong with him."

As if answering Yugi's question, hurried footsteps of guards along with whispers that the prisoner's door was open came to their ears, only to become a high-pitched keening noise that suddenly broke off. "Aw..." Mariku whined, "That's going to stain..." He sighed pitifully. 

Bakura and Seto gave Yugi a pointed look. Needless to say, he got the idea, "He killed every guard we came across." Seto muttered. "And he didn't even leave any for me." Bakura growled in anger. Mariku giggled.

Yugi and Ryou exchanged a look, both nodded. If the darks had been killing guards all the way to their cell, reinforcements were bound to come. In this case it had been sooner rather than later. "We ought to go..."

The group nodded their agreement, even Bakura had agreed –who was still sulking over not being able to kill anything.

Yugi turned to Jounichi; the blonde was still out of it, whether it be from blood loss or sleep deprivation, there was no way to tell. They didn't know if it was safe to move the blonde or not, but they didn't have a choice. When each of the soldiers had approached Jou to help carry him out of the cell, Seto would snarl possessively and insist on carrying the mutt himself.

"Jounichi!" He hissed, "Get up!" There was no response. "Get up and listen to your master, mutt!" Seto paused, dumbfounded when Jounichi's eyelids fluttered open.

"I am NOT a-" All the soldiers slapped a hand against the blonde's mouth. A simultaneous 'Sh!' echoed around them. 'What'd I miss?' Jou tried to say around all the hands on his mouth.

"I'll explain later. Right now we've got to get out of this hell hole." Seto muttered, removing his and the other's hands from his pup's lips. The honey-brown eyes nodded, "Say no more," Jou grunted. Seto helped him climb unsteadily to his feet.

They left the cell, finding Mariku sitting on a dead body, happily cleaning his bloodstained sword. He grinned at their approach. "Lookie at what I did!" He pointed to the carnage, as though expecting a treat.

"Very good Mariku," Ryou said patiently, he looked weak at the sight of all the damage caused by one person and clung to the sleeve of Bakura's robe. "How did he get here _anyway_?" He half hissed-half whispered.

Bakura shrugged, "Good question." He glanced over at Mariku for some help, "He just opened our cell, let us out, then followed us like a lost puppy." Jou seemed to bristle at the dog comment, even though it wasn't directed at him for once.

Mariku hummed a song, something that would sound suspiciously like 'Hello-Kitty' if it had been in the present times, "I'm working as a palace guard temporarily." He grinned, "I'm earning money so Malik-pretty can live with me! I'm going to bribe his sister!" He stood up and sheathed his sword, "Maybe I can earn enough to bribe Odeon too..." He quirked his head, "Ra knows there's not enough room in my house for all of them. Nope! Just Malik pretty is allowed!" 

Ryou flinched at Mariku's words, Bakura looked away.

Mariku frowned, "What is it?" He asked. Ryou opened his mouth automatically to say 'nothing,' but Bakura beat him to the punch.

"Dartz burned Kul Elna to the ground." He said flatly. The traces of insane hatred still burned with him. Mariku's dark lavender eyes widened in shock, this was news he hadn't foreseen. Bakura shook his head, answering Mariku's unspoken question. "There were no survivors."

Mariku's dark eyes seemed to grow even darker, denial etched on his face. "Yes there were." He protested, "You survived, Ryou-pretty survived, and I survived!" He said stubbornly, "Malik-pretty, Ishizu, and Odeon had to survive too!" He stomped down the jail hallway, angry now. Bakura shook his head.

"Well, according to your theory," He shot a look at Seto, "Mariku isn't a zombie, so Malik _must _be alive." He growled sarcastically. He followed after Mariku, feeling that he'd go as insane as the aforementioned if he didn't shed some blood soon.

Yugi picked up a couple of swords from the dead guards and handed them to his unarmed friends. "Let's see if those two leave any for us..." He said bitterly. They only nodded before stepping over one of the bodies which littered the floor

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Atemu slipped into his room, unnoticed by the guard stationed outside by the door. He had climbed in through the balcony –well adjusted to using it as an escape from his studies in the past.

He looked around, surprised to see most of his possession untouched. He was looking for something, _anything _that would help him in this impossible mission. Nothing seemed to yield any answers. There were only fancy palace clothes and gold. What good could they do for him?

He raked a hand in frustration through his streaked hair. This was a lost cause, he decided. Moving back towards the balcony, something in the distance caught his eye. A group of men and women, giggling and scantily clad were making their way to the palace, no guards stopping them on their way. Of course Atemu knew who they were, everyone in Cairo, and in all of Egypt knew _what _they were: a harem.

Sudden inspiration struck Atemu as he ran back to his bed and picked up the golden bands he had discarded when he first left for war. Sliding them back onto his forearms, he thought this was probably going to be one of his most humiliating ideas as of yet –so therefore that meant it probably was going to work. 

Before he knew it, he was sprinting towards his wardrobe and pulling out different robes. _Come on, Come on... _He thought desperately. _Please still be here! _

_Yes! _

He withdrew a thin linen outfit and stripped himself of his battle worn clothes. The new 'garments' he dawned hung loosely around his shoulders and looped around his arms, tying suggestively around his waist. He felt more like a curtain then a part of a harem. The cloth wound about his hips, keeping his thighs and calves exposed, giving only his nether regions the barest amount of coverage possible. His sense of discomfort heightened.

He slipped his sword in one of the tassels that hung around his right hip and tucked the millennium key into the band around his waist. He still had no idea what to use it for since it's shadow magic hadn't returned; his supply was low enough as well –only the royal family and high priests were able to use shadow magic, and Atemu had still been learning when he left the palace. He had no idea how to recharge the key; he would have to ask Seto granted he was still alive by the end of this.

Grabbing the black kohl from his dresser, he gulped and began to apply the hated make-up. The last time he wore this, he had been screaming and attempting to escape. He mused; thinking about how so much had changed in the short time he had been at war. He was willingly wearing kohl... He shuddered. 

He stood up and grabbed a vial of ink. He uncapped it, thinking about how this would be like hell to wash off later on.

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It had been fairly simple for Atemu to slip in with the band of prostitutes. No one made an attempt to stop him as he hurriedly joined the others. The guards most likely thought him to be a straggler, probably running late from an offer he had received on the way there.

The guards didn't even bat an eye when he crossed their paths –although he _had _gotten a few more wolf-whistles, wandering hands, and ass slaps then he ever cared to have in his entire life. He memorized every single one of his violators' faces and vowed if he survived this mission, he would make sure they never felt the desire to touch him again.

He was surprised no one had recognized him yet. Although he credited being unrecognizable on the ink he had drawn on his body. It had been almost impossible to make his tattoo look like erotic ink markings, but he had somehow managed to work his magic. He thanked every god he knew for the gift of being ambidextrous.

A teenager with sandy hair kept shooting him a sly look. He kept smirking at Atemu as though he had already seen through his disguise. He had dark purple sashes that crossed around and hugged his tan chest. He smiled wolfishly, drawing his arms across his chest.

The guard leading the group of men and women stopped in one of the larger hallways. Atemu ran a thumb over the ankh he brought with him. It comforted him.

"You will wait here while I get the pharaohand his men." The guard spat. Clearly he didn't like the notion of allowing meager whores into the palace, but didn't dare voice his disapproval. He stormed off, letting the prostitutes whisper excitedly amongst themselves. Atemu kept his head bowed, not wanting to partake in the banter.

"Nice disguise your majesty." The man who kept shooting him looks grinned. Atemu raised his head slowly, fear gripping his heart. He was afraid that the man would give him away, but instead the lavender eyed teenager raised a finger to his lips and winked.

Feeling slightly apprehensive, Atemu just nodded. There was no use worrying over something that was out of control. If the man proved to be a threat, killing the purple eyed teenager was not something that was beneath Atemu.

Dartz had arrived, along with the haggling group of soldiers from Yugi's troops, Ushio included. Atemu could not understand for the life of him how the soldier had regained his soul from the shadow plane; the cruel light was still in his eyes. Atemu realized that the man had been joined up with Dartz from the beginning. Anger flared its ugly head, and Atemu fought to keep himself under control. Blowing his cover and lashing out was the last thing he needed.

"Line up!" The guard who escorted them snapped.

Unwillingly, Atemu obliged and stood near the man who knew who he was. Dartz and his men began to walk around the harem, inspecting the prostitutes with practiced eyes. Atemu felt squeamish.

"Relax," The man laughed, "If you fidget like that, anyone would be able to tell that you're not supposed to be here." Atemu looked at him skeptically.

"Who are you?" He demanded.

The man smiled and made a move to smack Atemu on the back in a friendly gesture. Atemu held up a hand and motioned to his back. "I didn't ink myself up just for the hell of it you know." He said bitterly. The man laughed.

"Good point, sorry."

Atemu gave him a dry look, "So are you going to tell me who you are? Or am I going to have to kill you by association?"

"No need to threaten!" The teenager held up empty tan hands, "The name's Malik." He smirked, "And I already know who you are."

"And why is that?" Atemu mused. Was his disguise not good enough? "I've never been out of the palace without being under cover. My father..." He choked on the word, "He said it was for my health..."

Malik grinned and gave a flirtatious wink at one of the guards before turning to Atemu with a completely serious look on his face. "I've been to the palace before, my..." unrecognizable emotions twisted in lavender orbs, "my... _friend_ works as a palace guard..." Atemu had a feeling his 'friend,' was more then what Malik had said, but he didn't comment on it, "I used to see you running away from the high priest and pharaoh."

Despite himself, Atemu smiled, "I see..."

Malik turned his gaze to Dartz. Atemu was surprised to see hatred spilling from the light purple eyes. "So," Malik said, almost conversationally, "Are you here to kill 'the man'?" Crimson eyes followed Malik's gaze, and he knew who he was talking about. He nodded.

Malik's eyes shone with excitement. "I'll help you," He swore.

Atemu frowned, not wanting to have the sandy-haired teenager involved. "You don't have-"

"Yes I do!" Malik said forcefully. His shout drew the attention of the guards and he smiled apologetically. Atemu looked at him in alarm, "Sorry..." He apologized, "But I have to help..." He looked hesitant to elaborate.

"Why?" Atemu prompted. He knew it was wrong, but he was curious. And as much as he needed help, he couldn't just accept it right and left. The threat of being exposed was too great. He wasn't sure if he could completely trust Malik or not.

Malik seemed to accept the fact that Atemu would not accept his help without an explanation. He glanced at the dark sky, and breathed in a hurried whispered. "I was taken from Kul Elna, I don't know if you've heard of it, but that was one of the first villages Dartz destroyed..."

"I know it..." Atemu muttered. The destroyed village was an image burned forever in his mind. He looked at Dartz hatefully, once again thirsty for vengeance.

Malik flashed him a questioning look; Atemu shook his head, signaling he didn't want to talk about what was on his mind. "Go on with your story."

The teenager nodded, "I was captured when I tried to defend my sister from being taken. They... well," He smiled thinly, "They did bad things to me, and after they were done breaking me, I was sold into prostitution. End of story."

He offered Atemu a hallow smile. "But I didn't break." He continued, "I'm still here... and I'm willing to kill the bastard who took away my life." He looked at Atemu apologetically, "Selfish huh? Your reason is so much more heroic then my personal vendetta."

Atemu shook his head, smirking, "We're in the same boat. I'm moving out of revenge and for the sake of my Egypt." He stuck his hand out and Malik shook it firmly. He smiled crookedly, "Good, because I have an idea."

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Malik was stretched out on some cushions; one tan hand resting on his leg, the other was folded under his chin. He smiled coyly at the fumbling moron he had been paired up with, an idiot named god-knows-what.

He got up fluidly, making sure to put a certain sway to his hips. Malik looked very confident, but what he was about to do sent his heart slamming against his rib-cage. Once he got close enough to the man he was supposed to be seducing, he straddled his waist.

A goofy smile made its way on the man's face; Malik had to restrain the urge to roll his eyes. He slowly walked his fingers up the man's chest and undid the tassels holding his robes together.

Once he was sure the man wasn't about to do anything, he reached towards the soldier's weapon. "Silly thing, let's get rid of this..." He purred, licking his lips. The man just nodded stupidly, letting Malik strip him of his only defense.

In the second Malik had taken away the man's weapon, he had pinned and subdued the man with one well aimed thrust to the chin. His head snapped backwards, a couple of teeth cracking from the impact.

Malik didn't stop to let the man recover, slamming his palm into the man's face, breaking his nose in the process. Blood dripped down from the broken cartilage, mixed with crimson mucus. "You should've bitten down and rolled with the hit." Malik hissed in his ear. It was the same advice Mariku had given him a long time ago. He shook blond tresses from his eyes. Now wasn't the time to think of the palace guard, even though he might be somewhere in this palace.

He stood up, yanking the man's arm with him. It became dislodged, the man in too much pain to even cry out. Malik kicked him in his side and grabbed a fistful of his hair. "Now... You're going to do me a little favor, okay?" He asked sweetly.

The man nodded his complete agreement.

Malik smiled, this was almost too easy. "You're going to show me the way to a couple of prisoners..."

-

It was a trick Malik had picked up in Thebes. When you've beaten the crap out of a soldier, smear yourself in their blood and make them clean themselves up. That way, it looks like you took the hits, and you can walk around with your victim in tow. It was a perfect plan, and it was the one Malik had chosen to execute.

He, and the man –who he finally found out his name was Ryushou were now walking in the hallways. Very loose ropes were tied around Malik's wrist to make him look like a prisoner, while Ryushou unsteadily held the rope in his shaking hands.

They approached the door that lead down to the dungeons. Malik smiled sweetly and gestured for Ryushou to enter first. The lumbering guard did so, unlocking the door a fraction of an inch.

A fraction of an inch was all it took for two figures to sprint out, barreling over the poor guard as though he were paper. "Out of the way!" A voice snarled. Malik's lavender eyes widened considerably when he recognized the voice. He stuck his foot out, promptly tripping one of the figures.

"Damn!" He cursed, springing back to his feet. His hand reached toward his sword before pausing there, shocked. Garnet eyes met Malik's lavender, and an even louder swear word broke free from tan lips. "Malik!?"

"Hiya Bakura" Malik said cheerfully.

The other figure froze at Bakura's words. A gleeful expression spreading across his face. The figure sprinted at Malik, tackling him to the ground in a fit of joy. "Malik-pretty!" He squealed. "See! I told you he wasn't dead!"

Malik blinked, his arms automatically circling around the figure that held him. "Mariku..?" He breathed in awe. His body had ached for the other's touch, automatically drawing Mariku close to him. Mariku nuzzled his neck, sighing in content. "Yes Malik-pretty!" He purred.

Mariku lifted himself up to get a better look at his light and froze. Malik's face was dark with blood, his hands bound in front of him with a rope trailing over towards the guard he and Bakura had accidentally knocked over in their escape attempt. With the addition of the clothes Malik donned, Mariku's already insane thoughts went into overdrive.

He ripped himself from Malik's grasp with a wild snarl, his sword drawn and ready to deliver a killing blow. "You..." His eyes were dark with dark in anger, "What did you do to Malik-pretty!?" He demanded. The guard nearly shat his pants where he stood. He glared at the dumbfounded Malik, who was currently standing up.

"What did _I _do!?" Ryushou snapped, "That little _whore _beat _me _up!" Mariku back handed the guard with the hilt of his sword, fracturing the man's jaw. "Don't say that about Hikari-pretty!"

Malik looked pained at Mariku's reaction. He glanced up at the staircase. "Well," He said nervously, "You guys saved me a lot of trouble..."

Yugi and the others had finally caught up to the others. Once Ryou caught sight of Malik, he leaped at the sandy-haired teenager with a squeal. "Malik! What are you doing here?"

"Uh... long story..." "We have time"

"Actually we don't..." He glanced around nervously, how long had it been since he left Atemu? No sooner had the though occurred to him, warning shouts began to echo from the upper chambers. Malik groaned.

"That idiot, I told him to wait; I should have known he wouldn't listen."

"Who?" Jou asked flatly, "Your insane clown posse?"

"Close" Malik said with a grin, "The crown prince."

It was though lightening had struck the group. Twice.

"Atemu?" Yugi whispered.

"Well how many crown princes do you know?" Malik snorted.

In a flash, Yugi was bounding down the halls, his friends shouting at him to come back. He couldn't stop though, not when he knew Atemu was so close to him. There was a faint clash of metal, Sword against sword.

He didn't know where he was going, but he could feel a faint pull in a vague direction. Soon he was outside of the pharaoh's old bedchamber, a small crowd gathering. He pushed his way through and gasped.

-

**Mariku's personality is based off of Moondalian because I've never written him before!**

PATRIOTS! DIIIIE! GO JETS! CHARGERS! KILL THEM! ((sighs and goes to a corner to cry))

Read and Review... 


	13. The Last Stand

**Well, this is the last chapter! Epilogue is next after this! Sorry for the long update!**

Disclaimer: I don't own Mulan or YuGiOh

-

Dartz howled, blood poring from the wound Atemu had inflicted upon him. The prince leaped away from the teal-haired man's grabbing hands, crossing his feet for balance on the soft Persian rug.

This room was so familiar, his father's chambers. It made Atemu so _angry _to see Dartz stretched out on his father's bed.

So Atemu's plan of waiting until Malik broke Yugi and the other's from their cell was flawed –again.

When Dartz had finally backed the prince into a corner, all of Atemu's self-control had dissipated like smoke in air.

Lashing out with the dagger he had hidden in the drape around his waist, he successfully and quite magnificently blew his cover into a million pieces by attacking.

Dartz gave a loud screech of pain as the blade rolled off his shoulder, cutting a small –but deep wound into his bone. His hand fell away from Atemu, hanging useless by his side.

Upon hearing their pseudo-king yell in pain, soldiers began to shout and wake in their beds. Atemu knew he would have little time to finish what he had started.

Mismatched eyes flared in anger, Dartz swiftly drawing his own weapon. He glared at Atemu, as though wishing his death, "You _dare _attack your lord?!" he said hatefully.

"You are not my lord." Atemu hissed, pulling a second dagger from his belt loop. He still had the sword Seto had given him, but not wishing to reveal it, he chose to keep it hidden for now.

He jumped forward –not giving Dartz enough time to balance himself after the first assault. 

The room seemed to grow colder.

Atemu thrust Dartz sideways in the chest, his forearm sinking into his solar plexus. The teal haired man crumbled before the prince's feet, mismatched eyes wide in pain. Atemu's heart began to pound in his chest, adrenaline flooding his senses.

Something was wrong, his heart and instincts were screaming at him to run, but he couldn't. Not when he was so close to ending the life of the man who had ruined so many before him. 

He raised his dagger high above his shoulder, noticing the moonlight glinting off the blade for the first time. The torches from before had prevented him from seeing the shine of the moon. Now they were no longer on.

He frowned.

Hadn't the torches been lit just seconds ago?

The truth hit him like a ton of bricks, and he quickly backed away from Dartz's still form.

The teal haired man burst into tendrils of shadows which quickly evaporated into the darkened room. Atemu cursed himself for not paying closer attention.

A figure Atemu recognized to be Dartz melted from the ceiling, teal hair drifting downwards to tickle Atemu's nose. Crimson eyes looked upwards, wide in shock, "How?" He whispered.

Dartz smirked, lifting one pale finger to his lips, and then pointed at his neck. There, hanging upside down was the millennium puzzle. The eye of Horace glowed brightly with its shadow power.

"No..." Atemu whispered, disbelief coloring his tone, "But why..?"

"Because the puzzle recognizes me as the true ruler of Egypt, little whore." Dartz said smugly. Atemu fought the urge to roll his eyes, he didn't respond.

"I will lead this country to heights the previous weak pharaoh would have never dreamed of." Dartz continued, mismatched eyes glazing over in the thought of power.

" –And so Egypt will crash with you as our king." Atemu spat. It had taken every ounce of his will power to throw together a coherent sentence after seeing the puzzles power for Dartz.

Dartz melted back into the ceiling, automatically making Atemu tense up. He would use the shadows to attack blindly. If there was any light in the room, it had been swallowed by Dartz's darkness. Even the moonlight which had originally warned Atemu of the difference seemed to be covered in a shroud.

Since he knew it was going to happen, he wasn't surprised when he felt the first needle sharp pain shoot through his arm. Atemu was surprised to find it was just a scratch, no where near fatal. He realized Dartz was planning to kill him slowly.

A cut sliced thinly through his chest, making Atemu wince and fall backwards in pain. At this rate, he would die from infection rather then wounds, but he certainly hoped that wasn't the case.

Atemu was helpless, doing his best to block attacks as they came, and fight back when they didn't. He was trapped in the room he used to draw comfort from. Darkness pressed upon him from all sides, blinding and choking the prince. He couldn't fight back against the enemy he couldn't see. Dartz's attacks were getting harsher and deeper, invoking small cries of pain from Atemu's lips.

He squinted his eyes, will power receding. _'This is impossible'_ He growled, attempting to duck the incoming blade_, 'The puzzle recognizes Dartz as the true king...' _ He wondered if there even was a point of fighting anymore. Egypt had a new pharaoh; his father's throne had been taken.

His vision began to fade, the pharaoh's chamber beginning to disappear. Alarmed, he turned fully, expecting trickery on Dartz's behalf. No attack came, but Atemu didn't allow himself to relax as the room disappeared completely.

They were back in Limbo, the scales of Ma'at set in front of him. Had he died?

_'So willing to give up?' _A gentle voice rang from the scales. Atemu's cerise orbs widened. He recognized it to be the goddess Ma'at. _'After Dartz has so blatantly disobeyed my laws and killed so many?' _

"No..." He denied softly, "But... The puzzle-."  
_   
'-Is perfectly aware of what it's doing,'_ Ma'at interrupted softly_, 'Dartz does not fully understand the power of the Millennium puzzle. He is using it flippantly, without offering even a shred of _his _shadow magic as an exchange.'_

Atemu remembered the explosion, how he had been drained of his shadow magic after firing. He nodded in understanding.

"But how do I fight his darkness?" He demanded, "My shadow magic is still drained and there is no light; I'm not an owl."

_'Your shadow magic has returned long ago'_ Ma'at whispered.

Atemu frowned, not feeling any different then he had when fighting Dartz. "I don't understand." He admitted.

A gentle hand rested on the back of his shoulder. Atemu turned to see Hikari smiling at him, his amethyst eyes shining with happiness. He clutched the golden Ankh in his hand, shimmering with its golden energy.

_"Yami is here..."_ He whispered happily, "_Now go Meri-Ma'at"_

Atemu turned back towards the scales to ask what Hikari mean, but was startled to find himself back in the Pharaoh's chamber. He turned around, Hikari gone, "What-?"

A blinding light tore through the darkness, as though it were made of wet tissue. Dartz gave a shout of rage against the burning light which now illuminated him. He crouched, blinded.

Surprised, Crimson eyes turned towards the source of the light, his heart stopping. 

There, bathed in the light and more beautiful then Atemu remembered was his aibou.

"_Yugi..." _He breathed, eyes completely dazzled. What Hikari meant came flooding back to him. Yami was inside Yugi, that meant...

The prince took a tentative step towards Yugi. The captain mirrored the motion. 

"Atemu?" Yugi asked softly, hardly daring to believe that the prince had really come back. Atemu nodded, his arms already spreading. Yugi took a few more timid steps before sprinting towards Atemu. He tackled the prince to the floor, a soft cry muffled by the Atemu's chest.

Beautiful amethyst eyes looked up shyly, a mixture of disbelief and love written on the young captain's face. "Sorry..." Yugi couldn't help but smile as tears formed on the corners of his dark lashes. Atemu rubbed the bottom of Yugi's soft eyelids, the tears spilling onto his thumb. "I'm sorry Yugi..." He said softly. "Please don't cry."

Yugi shook his head, "I'll kill you later Atemu," He wrapped his arms more securely around the prince, "But I want to cry now." Atemu nodded his head once, in understanding. Yugi buried his nose into the crook of Atemu's neck, feeling complete for the first time since Atemu's 'death.'

Dartz climbed back to his feet, a disbelieving scowl on his face. "_Atemu?_" He hissed, "_You're _Atemu_?" _He wobbled over towards Yugi and Atemu, shadow magic poring from his being.

Atemu jerked Yugi behind him, drawing his sword as his did so. "Oh hell no!" Yugi snapped, much to Atemu's surprise, and stood next to the prince. He had drawn his own daggers, and was prepared to fight.

"Yugi..."

"Don't even think about saying what I know you're going to say." The captain snapped keeping violet eyes trained on Dartz. Atemu sighed.

Dartz attempted to darken the shadows in the room, but Yugi's light prevented him from so much as controlling a flicker. Atemu knew he couldn't win without Yugi's support, so he bit his tongue and steadied his blade.

Dartz lunged towards the light and dark halves, since he was unable to call upon the puzzle's shadow magic with Yugi present –He decided the annoying hikari would be the first to fall.

Yugi was slow to lift his dagger, large violet eyes wide in surprise. Dartz smirked, believing this was too easy. He threw his weight behind the attack fearlessly, not expecting Yugi to block. The teal haired man was thrown off balance when his sword clashed against a black blade. Atemu had parried the attack for Yugi and the captain, seeing an opening thrust his dagger forward into the soft flesh of Dartz's stomach.

Blood spilled from the wound, Dartz's eyes widened in shock.

-

"Hurry!"

"I'm moving damn it!"

"Well move faster!"

"Yugi! Yugi! Where are you?!" Jounichi shouted.

The rag-tag group of soldiers was running through the palace halls, desperately searching for Yugi and quite possibly Atemu. Seto and Mariku were leading them through the labyrinth-like passageways. The high priest gave a snarl of frustration as all the rooms on the corridor they searched bore no person which possessed tri-colored hair. He spun towards Malik in anger, "How could you _not _know where they had taken Atemu?"

Malik didn't shrink under his gave, lavender eyes meeting his reproachfully, "We split up!" He hissed, "I was taken away before I got the chance to tell Atemu where to meet up!"

The angry high priest pivoted on his heel, profanities spilling from his lips as he marched down the hall. Bakura just shrugged before taking Ryou's hand in his own and following. A look of annoyance crossed Jounichi's face, directing at Seto's obtuse nature before chasing after the priest to chew him out.

Mariku looked at Malik skeptically, his dark lavender eyes never leaving Malik's face.

"What?" The light asked, a bit self-conscious under Mariku's unyielding gaze. Malik fidgeted under the scrutiny, wondering if Mariku had noticed the light bruises that decorated his arms or the way he avoided eye contact.

The ex-palace guard crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. "Malik-pretty!" He whined, "Come on!" He grabbed onto Malik's hand and dragged him along; seemingly unaware. Malik sighed in relief. He was safe, for now.

-

Atemu and Yugi were pressed against each other, back to back. Together, they had managed to ward Dartz off, slowly injuring him when the evil man ventured too close.

Dartz clutch at his various wounds, an insane glint was misted over his eyes. All reason had long since deserted the madman; his only intent now was to kill the usurpers who threatened his throne. His mis-matched eyes never left the two all while devising a plan to defeat them. He had to admit, his chances weren't that good.

Frustration overtook him as he began to lose strength.

The puzzle which hung from his neck glowed faintly with its shadow magic. It begged and coaxed his mind to use its power, and he was sorely tempted to pour his soul into its darkness.

Realization hit Dartz with the force of Osiris' punch. _That's exactly what he'd do... He had given up one half of his soul before, and it had granted him an extended life. _By sacrificing his soul, he would become immortal. He would heal, and no mortal wounds would be able to kill him. He laughed quietly, giving up the last part of his soul.__

Atemu frowned, a feeling of foreboding tearing through the atmosphere. Yugi shifted uneasily, shrinking next to Atemu for comfort. Dartz was emanating an odd aura, his mismatched eyes glowed the soft golden shade of sand.

"What's he doing?" Yugi asked. He gripped his weapon, curling the blades to his chest. Atemu shook his head in misunderstanding, "I don't know." He replied tersely.

Unholy winds began to swirl harshly around the three. Atemu frowned and wrapped an arm around Yugi to protect him from the violent breeze. The effort was in vain, for the room was filled with the howling gust. Although the night was already naturally cold from the desert, the temperature seemed to drop further, the wind biting against the two's faces.

Yugi closed his eyes to protect them against the sand swirling in the air; unaware of the danger he was putting himself in. As soon as those large violet orbs shut, a dark trendril of magic snaked around his pale ankle and jerked his feet out from under him. Yugi fell with a cry, his head cracking against the white marble of the palace.

Crimson eyes widened at his love's immobile figure, desperately he crouched by his side and shook Yugi's slim shoulders. "Yugi!" He cried, almost begging the youth to open his brilliant eyes. His father had often spoken of the danger running in the palace halls could cause head injuries often lead to death.

Blood pooled around Yugi's head, dying his deep violet locks a dark shade of crimson that matched Atemu's eyes. Tears sprung to the prince's eyes, unable to believe that after all the sacrifice that had been made, his light would die from a fall like this.

Laying his palm flat against Yugi's chest, Atemu felt for a heart beat. His fingers glide against the silken skin, chilled but not cold against his warm hand. Breathing in relief, Atemu found the strong heart beat he had searched for. Knowing Yugi was not in any immediante danger, Atemu returned his gaze to a smiling Dartz.

The teal from his eyes was gone, leaving two amber colored orbs in its place. Atemu frowned, this fact not going unnoticed. Unfortunately, Atemu didn't have time to dwell on how Dartz had managed this color change so quickly. The teal haired man was confidently circling Atemu, as though knowing there would be no challenge in this battle.

"Now isn't that a shame?" Dartz mocked, extending a hand towards Yugi. Instinctively, Atemu stepped in front of his light, unwilling to place him in the line of fire. The golden eyes smiled outwardly, as though Atemu's attempt to protect Yugi amused him. Black ropes shot from Dartz's arm and wrapped themselves around Yugi's waist, lifting the limp form several feet into the air. Atemu could do nothing as a soft whimper escaped Yugi's lips.

"Put him down!" Atemu snarled one hand reaching up towards Yugi's hanging form. "He has nothing to do with us!"

Dartz 'tsked,' the smile never leaving his face, "On the contrary, he has everything to do with our current position." Atemu narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"What do you mean?" He demanded.

"Pretending not to know? I'm afraid ignorance will not save you."

"I'm not counting on it." Atemu shot back.

Dartz's smile faded a bit, and he glared at the prince. "Such impudence," He sneered, "I'm sure your _friend _would rather you not be so impolite." With a twitch of a finger, Dartz made the shadowy ropes around Yugi's still form constrict until the captain gave another cry of pain.

"Stop!" Atemu shouted; panic stealing through him. The last thing he wanted was another casualty, and from the height Yugi was drifting at, the small captain would surely suffer grievous injuries. Foolishly he yelled: "Take me instead!"

Dartz paused, looking at Atemu questioningly, "And why would I do that?" He asked softly, "It makes more sense to me, to injure you mentally first, before killing you physically."

Clutching at straws, Atemu spoke the first thing that came to his mind. "You lost your entire army to one man, a single foot soldier." The freshly identical eyes flashed in anger. Hurt pride was evident on Dartz's face. It was cruel, mean, and a blow under the belt; but Atemu didn't care. Seeing that he had wounded the villain's ego; he pressed on, pouring gasoline on the proverbial fire, "Your clean, wonderful victory, swept away; and in its place? You threw together a horrible plan at the last second. So what if you managed to barely kill my father and claim the throne? Your sweep of Egypt failed," Atemu sneered. "What will your loyal supporters say when they find out of the 'Great Dartz's' failure?"

For a long moment, Dartz and Atemu stood facing each other. The prince kept his back straight, trying to keep Dartz from noticing his shaking limbs. He was scared, and rightfully so. He knew the teal man love his ego and had spent decades stroking it to its humongous size. Now Atemu had gone ahead and attacked it. There was no turning back, because what he had done was the equivalence of insulting one's mother.

Slowly, Yugi's body settled down on the ground. A soft sign of relief escaped Atemu's lips, unaware of Dartz's steely golden eyes watching him.

Dartz straightened his shoulders, "You're absolutely right." He said calmly.

Atemu blinked in surprise, "Am I?"

"Yes, you are." Then, with a sudden cry, the man flung himself at Atemu's neck. The prince barely had enough time to dodge the attack. "If I kill _you, _then no one will dare to complain about my failures in battle!" Dartz laughed madly, pride shining in his eyes. At once, Atemu knew he had Dartz wrapped in the tangle of his web. The crazed man would follow him to all ends of the earth simply to kill him, which was good.

If only he had a plan.

Atemu faced Dartz, alone. His smaller wounds were beginning to irritate him. He struggled to breathe evenly. "It's just you and me now." He muttered grimly, "Catch me if you can."

And he was gone –sprinting down the halls, head first. Dartz, of course, gave choice.

'Perfect' Atemu thought hazily, 'Now I have to come up with weird ass plan –again.' 

The crowd which had gathered to watch the fight seemed to disperse before Atemu, allowing him to pass unhindered. His pursuer on the other hand, had much more trouble getting by. The teal haired man bumped and jostled many people, all of which seemed intent on delaying the man as long as possible. Dartz screamed profanities, finally barreling himself past the group. 

The crowd had served its purpose, and now Atemu had a plan in action. It was a half-baked plan; but a plan nonetheless. He sprinted purposefully towards the balcony windows; his hand was tightly wrapped around the millennium key he still carried. Concentrating deeply, he focused on a soft bubble of magic which flowed inside him. It wasn't enough magic to do harm to Dartz, but it was enough... just barely enough for what Atemu planned.

-

Some time had passed since Yugi had run off, and the group began to despair of ever finding their tiny captain again.

"Damnit!" Bakura cursed, "Where in high hell could that runt gone off to; and on such tiny legs?!" 

Jounichi paused at the end of a corridor, "Hang on a sec you guys, you hear dat?" His eyes were riveted to the floor as though in deep concentration.

Seto listened, and after a moment he shook his head, "Not at all, it's probably just your sensitive doggy ears." He replied flatly. Jounichi's eyes sparked and his knees buckled from underneath him; Seto clutched the blond closer to his chest, afraid that his pup might fall over from the wound on his shoulder. It was as though he had been struck by something invisible. Jounichi shook off his spell of dizziness and straightened himself up. He shrugged himself from Seto's arms, disgusted with his weakness. "I'm alright, let go."

Once free, he set to following the voices. Seto and the rest of the group watched on helplessly, knowing there was nothing they could do to deter the stubborn mutt.

"We're supposed to be looking for Yugi!" Ryou called after Jounichi, tugging on the teenager's uninjured forearm. The blond shook the pale hand off him with an air of a man would not be stopped for long.

"He's this way." He said confidently.

The others exchanged skeptic looks.

"What makes you so sure?" Seto demanded.

Jounichi smiled; a glint of red seemed to creep around the corners of his eyes. It sent shivers down Seto's spine, aware that his puppy wasn't acting like his usual self: "Have a little _faith _Seto, trust me." The high priest's eyes twitched, reminded of the lesson he had learned in the temple he used to go to for prayer. The blue eyed man nodded, ignoring the shocked looks from his companions.

"You _can't _be serious," Bakura said incredulously. 

"I'm as serious as a sin," Seto muttered. "Come on."

-

Jounichi led the group to an entanglement of people, each whispering to themselves in scared, hushed tones. When the group of armed men approached them, each person let out a terrified shriek and shrunk away.

"What are they afraid of?" Malik demanded angered by the accusing stares he was receiving.

Mariku shrugged and flashed a demonic smile at the crowd, "Mariku doesn't care." He purred at his light half.

Ryou, who had been edging around the crowd, peeped into the room they were huddled around. He let out a horrified gasp and began to push his way violently through the crowd of people. They seemed reluctant to let the albino pass, but seeing Bakura muscle his way through, they parted like the Red Sea and allowed their entrance.

"Yugi!" Ryou cried, running on light feet towards his fallen commander. The captain moaned, his violet eyes fluttering open.

"Ryou...?" He asked hazily. 

Ryou nodded absently, beginning to poke and prod at Yugi, occasionally asking if anything was hurting his friend.

"Where's Dartz?" Yugi asked sleepily, "And Atemu...?" The tri-haired teenager froze, his amethyst eyes snapping open in fear, "Where's Atemu?" He demanded, catching hold of his second wind.

Ryou grabbed a hold of Yugi's shoulders and pushed him down gently, "Yugi, calm down..." He said soothingly, "We haven't seen Dartz or Atemu, they're probably still fighting..."

"Fighting?" Yugi shrieked, eyes wild, "Alone? No!" He struggled against Ryou, until the albino was forced to call the others to help calm the confused captain down.

Jounichi strode up to Yugi and pushed Ryou aside. Bakura snarled at the offending gesture, but did nothing since Seto had laid a restraining hand on his shoulder. 

"Listen up shrimp," Jounichi said rudely, "Your royal hunk of flesh is still alive and kicking." Yugi looked up, slightly startled at the dramatic change in his friend's compassionate behavior, but grateful nonetheless at a bit of hope. Yugi began to sit up, but was stopped by Jounichi's hand.

"If you go to help him now, all is lost." Jounichi's eyes were no longer their soft shade of brown, instead a brilliant shade of blood red. "You will die, He will die, Dartz will win, and Egypt will be lost." He said sternly. Yugi paled, not afraid of death himself, but fearing for what his actions might subject his love to.

"Jou..?" He asked timidly.

The being in Jounichi's body merely smirked, "Stay with your friends, leave the palace and wait outside the front gates. You'll have a good view of the fight from down there."

With a sudden jerk, the red left Jounichi's eyes, his soft puppy orbs returning to their usual honeyed shade.

"Jou..." Yugi muttered in concern.

"Yug! Buddy! You're alright!"

"Uhm, yes..."

"Man, I have a killer headache! Where's Atemu?"

Jounichi turned around, sensing bewildered stares surrounding him on all sides. "Uhm... what is it guys? Do I have something on my face?"

-

Atemu sprinted and Dartz gave chase. His wounds stung against the artic night, his reminder that the dangerous being who followed him closely, would do severe damage to him if he was caught.

The air around Atemu grew even colder, and Atemu recognized the drop in temperature as shadow magic. Dartz was using the power of the puzzle relentlessly, relying heavily on the ancient item.

Atemu had already ruled out the change that the puzzle's power would wane; never had it done so while it was possessed by his father. Atemu guessed the chances were very slim. The artifact must be an item of supreme power, quite possibly being the symbol of his father's reign.

Shadowy tendrils snuck after Atemu, grabbing at his feet and attempting to trip him. He paid them no attention, focusing only on his goal: the balcony.

Once again he'd have to revoke his previous insane plan. This one by far, was the craziest-most-shit-inspired thought he had ever come up with on the spot. He wasn't even sure if it would work or not.

As he sprinted to the window, Dartz had finally caught up with Atemu enough for his shadows to reach out towards the prince.

A rope of the black power caught Atemu's ankle and pulled him down against the marble tile. Dizzied from the fall, Atemu scrambled haphazardly to his feet. He was not sure how long he could keep up this mad pace, but under the current circumstances, the prince figured he had a few good sprints left in him. The chances of survival were at a maddeningly low ratio, but Atemu pressed onward.

Palms sweaty, Atemu clutched at the stone railing and hoisted himself over the edge. As expected, Dartz followed the prince relentlessly.

Dartz smiled, relishing the feeling of power which thrummed through his being: power by the puzzle, his black soul, and how both resonated with the night.

Unnoticed by either men, the gods sat in council, watching the fight with worried eyes. 

They sat in a large semi circle, each seated in golden thrones which hovered in the night sky. For mortals whom looked up tonight, they would merely look like glimmering stars. Ra sat himself in the center with a sour Horace by his right side. The golden eyed god snapped his beak impatiently and fidgeted in his seat.

"Horace, I know you wish to help..." Ra began patiently, but was cut off by an irritated Horace.

"'Because standing by and watching happens to be the only productive thing we can do at this time'" Horace recited. "Sorry" He apologized, noting the glare upon Ra's face, "But watching my only living charge fight for his life while I sit around and watch is infuriating, can't I take a rain check on my duties?" He begged.

Ra was no longer paying attention. His light eyes were directed towards the center of the circle. Despite his annoyance, Horace found his own attention being drawn there as well.

Three figures emerged, all of which were recognized by the council: Fate, Seth, and Destiny. Shouts of surprise and anger echoed around the circle. The only two seemingly unaffected by the sudden appearance was Ra and a goddess.

She sat in her throne, legs crossed and a smile of knowledge lit her lovely face. An ostrich feather was nestled into the headdress she hung from her head. A bronze staff was laid across her lap, and a golden ankh hung from her hand. Large wings were folded on her back, serenely fluttering with the night wind. This was Ma'at.

Ma'at looked up at Ra and smiled. The sun god sighed, nodding his consent. The smile grew on Ma'at's face and she picked her staff up. With one jerk, she threw it into the air where it hung there, suspended by seemingly nothing.

It floated above the heads of the oblivious gods; going unnoticed in their rage. Then suddenly, the tip erupted in a tiny flame. The flame grew larger and larger until it blew out.

The staff blew up in a thousand stars, whistling loudly and diving past the shrieking gods. The staff/shooting star, circled around the group before returning to Ma'at's waiting hand.

She laid the innocent looking staff across her lap once again, the serene smile never diverting from her face. "Would you please be so kind to return to your seats?" She asked softly, the subtle voice of command. "There will be no need for angry revenge while I am here."

Reluctantly, the gods returned to their seats. Horace hovered, but also sat back down, glaring hatefully at Seth.

"Seth" He hissed, rage pouring off him in waves, "You traitor."

Seth rubbed the back of his muzzle and yawned. He looked over at Fate pointedly, "You see?" He said in hurt tones, "I do something good for once and this is the treatment I receive." Fate giggled and nodded.

"It's no wonder why everyone thinks you're so evil." She said, "It you're nice, the gods will shun you!" She reconsidered, "Or they'll think you're plotting something mean and kill you!"

"The nerve!"

Horace had to be restrained by Ra's hand or he would have leapt out of his seat again, "The only good you could ever do is lie face first in the Nile!" He snarled, close to breaking free of Ra. "You were the one to set up the barrier around Cairo, weren't you?!"

Seth made a 'tsk' sound and flopped down in the seat reserved by Ra's left side, "Pretty much, yup." He pulled out another vial of sand and began to play with the contents.

"What do you have to report?" Ra asked anxiously. Horace gave a disbelieving screech, "Ra! Can't you see that he's-"

"What I can see," Ra cut across the sky god angrily, "Is the blindness left in your remaining eye."

Horace snapped his beak, enraged at the blow under the belt, "Blindness?" He demanded, knocking his chair aside. His golden eye drifted downwards towards the fight of shadows that raged below.

Atemu was struggling to hold onto the edge of the palace roof, while a dark tendril of magic snaked around the prince's waist and tugged, trying to drag him to his death.

"All I can see," Horace growled, descending upon Ra like the bird of prey he was, "With this one _blinded _eye; Is a young boy –who had barely reached manhood, fight to stay alive with the weight of a country settled on his shoulders."

The sun god did not flinch.

"We sit here in the presence of the two who are responsible, for not only the death of the pharaoh and his wife, but the resurrection of an enemy, and perhaps the fall of a nation!" He shouted. "You sit on your ass and try nothing because these two demand your cooperation! You are unfitting to lead the gods, The sun god is a _COWARD_!"

RA stood up, his anger finally sparked, "Hear me Horace!" He thundered, "But you cross the line when you insult my honor!" The falcon god met Ra's gaze steadily.

The wrath of the sun god was a truly frightening thing to see, but Horace stood firm in his ground, "You're as honorable as Seth." Horace sneered.

A collective gasp echoed around the gods, for that was the gravest insult Horace sound give. Seth scowled and Ra's face lost all color.

"You... You _dare..._"

"Yes. I do." Horace snapped flatly, "If you're so honorable, then tell me your reasons for sitting still! I've been in the dark for far too long!" Sparks crackled between the two gods, neither giving nor gaining ground.

After a long stretch of silence, Ra finally sighed and looked away.

The god hung limply in his seat and looked at Horace tiredly.

"This is true," He sighted, "You might want to sit down."

"Ra, we don't have time for a story!" Seth commented his red eyes fixated on the struggling prince below.

"Then I'd like the short hand version, _if you please." _Horace snapped. Seth yawned.

Ra stood up again and jerked his head towards Destiny and Faith. "This is as short hand as we can get." He gestured with one hand towards the two sisters. At first Horace couldn't see how that was to help, but once the two girls clasped hands Horace gasped in recognition. "No way... they are?"

Ra nodded solemnly, his light eyes never drifting from the two figures.

There fingers melded together, one hand on two arms before they two melted together. Red hot holes appeared in their smoky forms, glowing like stars. Light spilled from the holes, cracking them and making them grow in size. The light overtook the shadows. Destiny and Fate were no longer black, but a smoldering red color.

They gazed at the gods with their large yellow eyes until the two bodies united. They were one blazing star against the night sky. The light began to calm, dimming down to a soft glow. When the light had finally deserted the single figure which had been the two sisters of time, Horace and the other gods gasped –most falling out of their seats.

"Are you-?"

"Serious?" Seth cut Hoarace's question off, "Yes, we are." He smirked at the dark look Horace shot him. He snorted.

Horace merely glared and returned his gaze to the single entity. "Who is she?" He whispered.

Ra turned towards the combined Fate and Destiny before looking at Horace, "We have before you, a being of virtue." Horace frowned.

"I present to you, Lady Faith."

Lady Faith was a tall woman, an ethereal depiction of the Magician of Faith. Her skin glowed faintly with the last residue of energy. One pale hand grasped a curved moon staff that she held parallel to her chest. Purple robes fluttered about her, blue leggings were tucked into red, cloth boots. 

She twirled her golden staff and used it to point to the fight below. "We shall introduce ourselves properly after the battle." She spoke in a high soprano, strangely calming in this stressful time.

"You seem confident in the outcome." Seth stated, wiggling his foot lazily. He cared what happened to Egypt, but playing his concern off as nonchalance.

The lady of Faith smirked, having seen through his attempt. "I cannot be sure," She replied in her calm, ethereal tone. "I have been proven wrong in the past." She shot an amused look at Anubis and Osiris. "I had forgotten how jealously the guardians of death protect their charges, luckily Horace and Seth interfered." Anubis and Osiris shot the two gods a glare; they evidently still remembered the interference.

Horace couldn't stand staying silent for long, "What the fuck is going on!?" He burst, "This is becoming confusion and almost impossible to follow!"

Faith smiled, "I will reveal my intentions after the fight." She said serenely. 

The subject was closed, and Horace realized there would be no point in pressing the Lady for any more details than she had given. 

"One more question than," Horace said seriously. The Lady of Faith gave a motion for him to continue.

"Will Atemu survive?"

A troubled look crossed over her face for the first time that day.

"I do not know." She admitted.

-

Dark winds swirled around Atemu pinning him to the limestone roof.

He desperately tried to stand, only for the dark magic to push him all the more harshly against the stone. Atemu was beginning to feel sick, his sight fading against the blackness.

Dartz strolled through the tempest with the east of a ruler walking amongst his peons. He crouched in front of Atemu, his golden eyes glowing with mirth. "What are you going to do now little prince?" He asked softly. Atemu had to strain to hear him over the blasting winds.

Atemu forced his limbs to move against the magic, scrambling away backwards. Dartz drew his sword.

"I had fun playing this game of cat and mouse, but I quickly dire of it; I must start drawing up plans for a new empire." Dartz said jovially. He raised the tip of the blade and smiled.

The corner of Atemu's mouth curled into a smirk, and he slowly raised the millennium key to hide his smile. Dartz raised his eyebrows, "An Ankh?" Dartz said dumbfounded. His meager knowledge of Egyptology told him that it was a sort of tool for prayer. He smirked in contempt, "Saying a last minute prayer to your god?" He sneered.

Dartz plunged his sword forward, striking home against something hard: Most likely Atemu's ribs.

Instead of a splatter of blood however, a metal clang rang out, and the shadow winds suddenly died out. A dumbfounded Dartz suddenly found himself unarmed. His sword was caught around the loop of the ankh, stopping short from Atemu's neck.

The prince had pivoted on his heel, leaping up at the last second. The blade was in his hands before Dartz could blink. Atemu slid the sword from the loop, the blade in one hand, the ankh in the other.

Striking quickly, Atemu thrust the sword deep into Dartz's belly.

The man shrieked in pain before turning disbelieving golden eyes on the prince.

"Was this your master plan?!" Dartz snarled, gripping the sword around its blade and boldly pulling it out. "Mortal weapons cannot kill me!"

Without the sword stopping it, blood gushed freely from his wound.

Atemu smirked.

Dartz gasped, as if in agony. Blood dribbled from his curled lips; the prince looked on in grim smugness.

"Luckily it wasn't a mortal weapon," He said coldly. "Besides..." He frowned, "You'd be surprised what you can live through."

Golden light spilled from the abdominal wound, Dartz's body jerked and writhed, his body going into severe convultions.

"How?" Came his gurgled cry. The light began to fade from his body and golden eye. Dartz collapsed, dead before Atemu's feet.

The prince bent down next to the tyrant's body.

"It's justice," He hissed into the dead man's ear. Atemu reclaimed the millennium puzzle from Dartz's neck, taking the title of king along with it.

-

The lady of Faith turned towards the disbelieving gods and smiled.

"You see?" She said breathlessly, "You just needed a little bit of faith!" She pretended to admonish the gods.

"Oh yeah, like you weren't about to piss your pants," Horace and Seth snapped simultaneously. 

They both glared at each other, shock and irritation on their faces.

"Don't copy me!" Horace hissed.

Seth's red eyes narrowed, "Don't copy _me!"_

Horace, oblivious to all the gods watching, jumped shamelessly at Seth. Osiris, who could do nothing more then deny Horace was his son, hid his face behind his hands in embarrassment.

The two gods wrestled, spiting profanities and vulgar remarks at each other. They were both very happy. Ra smiled softly, knowing that some things just never changed. Ma'at smiled in content, justice had finally been served.

-

**Although this is the last chapter, stay tuned for the epilogue!**

Sorry about the late update, I had a bunch of crap to do. I think I'm going to cry! This story is... ((sobs))! 


	14. Epilogue

Yugi paused, unable to describe the surging emotions which coursed through him. A bloody hand was buried in his hair; he felt dizzy, torn between two conflicting emotions. His obedience to the scary-Jou whose words held a solid note of foreshadowing, or should he forsake the warning to run up and help Atemu.

The ledge Atemu teetered on wasn't very high from the ground. The palace roof was layered, one stone ledge on top of another. While Atemu wasn't high off the ground, it wasn't exactly low. If he should fall, he would certainly break something... or _a lot of things_.

He risked a sideways glance at Jounichi. There were no hues of red in the warm brown eyes, but Yugi couldn't help but feel a slight shiver run down his spine. Jou's personality had been altered so drastically, it was hard to believe that the warning had actually happened. The only thing that helped Yugi believe the warning to be true was the calculating gaze Seto had kept trained on Jounichi. 

Yugi's grandfather used to tell him stories of his services to the pharaoh. He never knew exactly what the elderly man did aside from his duties as general, but he would always come home with fantastic tales for him. Yugi always believed the legends to be simple stories of pleasure, made up by his grandfather for Yugi's entertainment. 

One story spoke of a simple peasant whom came to the palace intending to kill the pharaoh and his four year old son. Solomon and the other high priests stopped the peasant before he could perform his insane plot, and using a few magical items, they had banished the evil from the man's heart. The evil had come forward in the shape of Apep, the supreme god of evil and chaos. The priests and pharaoh struggled long and hard against the god, calling upon the power of the gods to come to their aid. Ra and his defenders came down and raged against Apep. The good gods eventually won, warning the pharaoh and priests to be cautious when dealings with those possessed. Solomon told Yugi that a red eyed god had turned to him, jackal face all, and winked.

How surprising was it that memories long gone bubbled to the surface now? And at what a time! The red gleam in Jou's eyes had been very close to what his grandfather had described to Yugi. The god's cautious words made the captain pause. Would Jou hurt him? He banished the thought immediately. In order to possess someone, they had to have had similar purposes already. Yugi was sure the god that had possessed Jounichi was looking out for his best interests. Even _if_ he was pretty damn rude.

So distracted was Yugi, his attention jerked back towards the fight only when Malik cursed wildly. "Move it Atemu!" Violet eyes dilated in fear, _What the hell did he miss? _

Dartz had Atemu at sword point. His two golden eyes shimmered with delight. His lips moved, words catching in the wind making it unable for the group to understand what he was saying. Atemu answered him, holding something higher in his hand. The objects golden glint was the only noticeable detail they could make out from such a distance. It seemed to amuse Dartz, for he laughed mockingly and plunged the sword forward. Yugi's blood drained from his face. He couldn't force himself to look away. 

A strange thing happened in the following three seconds. One, Dartz held a sword; two, Dartz didn't hold the sword anymore; three, the sword was in Dartz's chest. 

The villain which had plagued them crumpled in a puddle of his own blood; Atemu standing victoriously over his dead body. The millennium puzzle dangled from his tan hand, a grim line of justice drawn across the prince's face. He stood there for a moment, seeming to sway against the winds.

"Atemu!" Yugi gasped. The prince's body, worn from the battle and grievious wounds tottered, and fell off the palace roof.

Yugi ran forward, reaching the spot where his dark-half would fall –just before he collided with the ground. Atemu had collapsed on top of Yugi, crushing them both together. The prince blinked, seeming to pull his thoughts together. He looked down and with a start; he recognized the small figure he was pressed against. "Oh! Yugi!" Atemu righted himself, finding that he was in a rather compromising position with Yugi. "I'm sorry-!" He trailed off, his thoughts coming to a screeching halt.

Atemu was gazing at Yugi –or more specifically, his eyes. They were alive with color, expressive gems that shone an even deeper shade of violet as Ra slowly began to rise in the sky. Crystalline tears welled in the captains eyes, stunning Atemu into silence. "Did I hurt you?" The prince asked quietly. Even though he said it, he already knew that wasn't the cause of his love's tears.

One of the droplets escaped his light's eye, trailing a small rivulet down to the point of his chin. Atemu leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Yugi's eyelid. The captain wasn't going to put up with an unsatisfying kiss like that. Eagerly, he wrapped his lithe arms around Atemu's neck and captures his lips in a passionate kiss. All of Yugi's troubling emotions spun in the loving gesture, and Atemu responded with one of his own. 

When they broke away both gasped for breathe. Yugi rested his forehead against Atemu's and panted in uneven bursts of air. "Don't. Ever. Do. That. Again." He managed to grind out. Atemu didn't have to ask what Yugi was talking about, he already knew. He wrapped his arms around Yugi and bowed his head. "I won't leave you, not ever again." Atemu vowed. 

The group of friends was so awed and happy about this reunion, they didn't notice with Malik slipped away.

He was happy. Happier than he had ever been in the last few months, but Malik couldn't lie to himself. He knew he could be happier if he was in Mariku's arms. He tried to deny it when he slipped away from the celebrating group, but now when he was alone and forced to cope with what he had given up, the truth hit him with an incredible force which almost knocked him off his feet.

He cursed his selfishness, cursed it to hell and back. Egypt was safe, Atemu would now ascend to the throne with Yugi by his side, his best friends from Kul Elna were alive, and Mariku would most likely gain a position as palace guard. He should be happy. He shouldn't want more. He didn't deserve any more.

But he couldn't help it. Malik fought against the burning that threatened to spill from his eyes. He wanted to be with Mariku, he _needed _it. He couldn't have him though. He wasn't worth it; not after what Dartz and his men had done to him. It was just too much to take in one night. 

-

Atemu helped Yugi clamber to his feet, his eyes moving over the familiar faces he hadn't seen in a while. Standing before him was Seto, Jounichi, Bakura, Ryou, and even Mariku –a palace guard he liked to play tricks on. A smile wormed on his face, wondering if Mariku had any connection to Malik. Atemu glanced around for the sandy haired boy; he meant to thank him for all his help. Malik was no where in sight. Atemu frowned. "Hey, has anyone seen another teenager? He has tan skin and lavender eyes. He sort of looks like Mariku." He stated.

The group swiveled their heads, looking for Malik. "That's strange" Ryou said softly, "He was just here a minute ago."

Mariku frowned, "Malik-pretty?" He hissed in shock, "Where did Malik-pretty go?" The ex-palace guard pivoted on his heel, insane lavender eyes searching wildly for his lighter half. Finding that his 'Malik-pretty' had deserted the group, Mariku turned towards the group almost helplessly. "Where's pretty?" A tinge of hurt colored his eyes, "Why would pretty leave Mariku?"

Atemu frowned. That was a good question, and he was sure that if he had been in a better state of mind, he'd be able to give Mariku an intelligent answer. At the moment however, the only thing that could come to his mind was the vague conversation he had with Atemu before they departed. _"They did bad things to me, and after they were done breaking me, I was sold into prostitution. End of story."_

Now that he thought about it, Atemu thought the reason was pretty obvious, complete brain activity or not. But that meant... A surge of pain ricocheted through the tri-colored boy's head, and Atemu felt his knees buckle. He was completely drained.

"He left" Atemu managed to gasp before he collapsed, "Because of what Dartz did to him." This caught the attention of Mariku and company fairly quickly. Malik's look-a-like kneeled down beside the prince's slumping form, seriousness and alarm drawn on his face.

"What do you mean?" Bakura demanded. Mariku shot the prince a knowing look and shook his head sadly. 

Atemu shook his head, unwilling to say more than was needed, "Just go find him." He wheezed, "Because if you don't find him now, I doubt you'll find him again in the near future." Mariku didn't need any more incentive than that. With a speedy farewell, he ran off, leaving the group even more confused than they already were.

Mariku's retreating back was the last thing Atemu saw before he passed out.

-

Malik was almost near the edge of the palace. Just a few more yards and he'd be free. And out of Mariku's life. Malik felt terrible leaving the group without so much as a goodbye, but he knew if he stayed near Mariku any longer, he wouldn't leave him. It was impossible. Despite the ex-palace guards' insane and often stupid behavior, Mariku was really quite intelligent. Malik wouldn't be able to live with himself if Mariku had found out what he had been forced to do. He just wanted to escape out of Mariku's life forever. 

Funny how those plans never work out.

One of the most futile tasks in Egypt was the attempt of escaping a palace guard. Unless you were the crown prince, the task was next to impossible. A soft, pliant kiss was pressed on Malik's perspiring temple before he even knew what was happening. Gentle arms wrapped themselves around his wait in an unyielding gesture. Mariku had caught up to him already.

Alarmed, Malik struggled against the familiar grip.

"Malik-pretty!" His captor murmured ruefully, "Why did Malik-pretty leave his Mariku?"

A pang of guilt struck Malik and he ceased his struggles. Mariku ran his lips over Malik's face and kissed his bruised mouth. "Mariku already knows." He said softly, "Mariku always knew." He pulled the stunned Malik to his chest and knelt down to the floor.

Malik had enough, sense left in him to blink at Mariku, "How?" He whispered, weaving his tan fingers through Malik's corn silk hair, "Mariku won't let you get away from him again..."

-

When Atemu came around he found himself lying in his bed. His friends were murmuring in low tones at the foot of his bed, trying not to wake him. He groaned and sat up. 

Mariku still hadn't returned.

Atemu swiveled his head to get a better look at the group. Yugi was lying on the foot of the bed, Dartz's sword settled on his lap, "Glad to see you back among the living." Amethyst eyes smiled at him. Atemu grinned in return, "It's good to be back."

Seto scowled and ducked his head under the canopy of Atemu's bead, "I'm not sure if I ought to kill you..."

A new voice called from the doorway, "Please don't, it took forever to pry him from the hands of Osiris."

Horace and Seth entered the room, only using the doorway for humane reasons. "Hey Atemu" Horace greeted cheerfully, a sullen Seth in tow, "Or should I say 'Pharaoh'?" Atemu glared.

"I hope you don't find me rude, but what the hell are you guys doing here?" He snapped. Truthfully, Atemu wasn't sure he wanted to be Pharaoh just yet, it was just too soon. His father hadn't even been dead for a week, and already the title of kingship was thrust upon Atemu.

Horace clicked his beak and pushed Seth forward, "He needs to apologize." The red eyed jackal snarled and crossed his arms stubbornly, "What for?! I was helping them out!"

"Possessing a mortal, being rude to the mortal's friends, and then leaving aforementioned mortal with a killer headache... Apologize." Horace ordered, a hint of a threat coloring the command.

Grimly, Seth looked at the stunned Jounichi and growled an apology. It was truly a day to mark on the calendar. And for the rag-tag group of friends, it was a world defining moment, since they had never seen a god before. A confused Jounichi quirked his head and shot Seto a questioning look. He honestly had no idea why he was being apologized to.

"Now that we have irritating detail out of the way," Seth smirked and pushed Horace forward, "Your turn." The sky god flushed red and ducked his head in shame. "I'm sorry."

Atemu quirked an eyebrow, "For what?" The last time Atemu had checked, Horace had saved his soul from a premature death, brought him news of his father's death, and brought him back to Cairo in record timing. All in all, Atemu had to apologize to **him. **

Seth's ruby eyes gleamed, "You better lie back down kid; fireworks are going to fly."

Not knowing what fireworks were but sure that it was pretty bad if the word 'fire' was in it. Atemu propped himself up with a curled fist tucked under his chin, he gestured for the gods to continue.

"This is hard for me to say," Horace admitted, "I don't really know where to begin..."

"Then don't," Seth muttered, "Let Faith explain."

Horace frowned and rubbed his head. It was clear to Atemu that _Horace _wanted to explain things to the new king. He just struggled to voice words he knew would impact everyone in the room greatly. Despite everything, the corner of Atemu's lip curled into a smile.

"Go on Horace," He said kindly, "I'd rather hear it from you than someone I don't know."

Gratified at Atemu's words, Horace clicked his beak. He looked through one golden eye and smiled in his bird-like way. He glanced at Seth and the god of Chaos nodded. The both morphed into their human forms and Horace took a piece of cloth from the robe that appeared and wrapped it around his head, covering his bad eye. Seth, red-haired and red-eyed shifted, uncomfortably when he noticed the precautions Horace took to avoid hurting his already sensitive eye.

"Ra has risen in the sky already." He said dryly. Seth looked pointedly at Horace, "Go on." He snapped, "Let's get this over with Mr. Courtesy." 

Horace nodded; raising an eyebrow to the sharp tone Seth used. He paused and glanced at Atemu apologetically. "You never killed Dartz."

The eyebrows of everyone in the group shot to their hairlines. "Excuse me" Bakura said rudely, "But we saw Dartz get impaled with his sword, fall over, writhe in pain, and die." Red eyes looked up thoughtfully, "Which was cool." He added. Ryou stared at Bakura, shaking his mane of light hair and looking back at the two gods like that was normal.

"The Dartz you fought was really a ghost of his former self, no more than a shell of a long-dead ruler." Horace began, eyeing the group carefully. When he was sure they weren't going to interrupt him, he continued. His steady voice enraptured his audience.

"Dartz has lived since the dawn of mankind; he was a ruler of a land that had long since fallen into civil war. His people forced him out of his own country and Dartz was forced to go into hiding. Unfortunately, the damage Dartz had done as king was irreversible, and the land fell into a sad state of disrepair that forced the citizens to abandon their homes.

"Dartz, angry and vengeful, could not take his fall from power so easily. For months, hidden in a cave and feeding off of the dead bodies of rats, his hateful nature festered and grew; finally attracting to him the root of all evil: Apep. Apep, as was in his two-faced nature, offered Dartz a deal he could not refuse: long life and a rise of power in return for half of Dartz's soul.

"Now Dartz did not believe in Egypt's gods, therefore he knew nothing of an after-life, nor the power of ones' soul. He did not know that to enter the afterlife, you had to be in possession of your soul." Horace looked pointedly at Atemu, "You of all people know that while you are Limbo, you are only a soul, and that is what must pass the scales of Ma'at."

"Luckily for Dartz, he still had half a soul; therefore he would still be allowed to pass onto the afterlife. Ammit would not be able to live in a partial being," Horace's lips curved into a mocking smile, "It was only half a soul Apep wanted, that bastard must've known it would be tough for us to get rid of him otherwise."

"Now sacrificing half of his soul, Dartz did not gain immortality, but an extended 'life.' He has lived longer than any mortal, and therefore he had extensive knowledge of the brutalities of war. 

"Over and over again, he took countries by storm; each was unable to defend against his attacks. He seemed unstoppable, until one day, his lord liege, Apep, was killed by the gods. It was an almost impossible feat, one that could have only been done by another god. Dartz was at a loss as to what to do. His empire collapsed, and once again he was forced to change his name and go to Libya to hide. 

"Over a period of years, Dartz laid in wait. He was pleased to find that his extended life had not been effected by Apep's death. He ventured into the kingdom of Libya and seduced the princess that dwelled there. He quickly rose in ranks and eventually married the princess. He plotted her father's untimely death, since the princess believed herself to be happily in love, she was unaware that he plotted her death as well.

"He ruled the country of Libya after the girl's death, settling on the throne as the country's ruler. He soon set his malicious eyes on Egypt, a country that was flourishing. He quickly fabricated a reason to go to war with the country and set men to invade. For a long time, the Red Lands kept Egypt safe, but the barrier of sand Seth created would not keep Dartz at bay for long. The Lady of Faith knew this, so she split herself into two entities, Faith and Destiny to keep track of two boys who might stand a chance of ridding the world of Dartz once and for all.

"As the two sisters of time, Faith had to gift the son of the Pharaoh with the endowment of Darkness, taking away any light and innocence he might have possessed and instead bestowing it upon his soul mate of Light. The power of Light and Dark, although powerful separately would be no match against Dartz's vast knowledge. Faith knew the two boys would have to meet.

"Aknaunkanon was king, and unable to raise Atemu as he pleased; therefore Atemu's mother would have had to raise the child on her own. In some ways that might have counteracted against the gift of Darkness in Atemu, changing his destiny altogether, if his mother had survived, she would have no doubt raised Atemu with the most tender love, he would have been unable to harbor a single dark thought. Atemu's mother held his destiny, to take it back, her death was ordered.

"For a while Faith's plan seemed to work out fine. Every god except Hapi and me knew about the plan, and even I was being watched for a while. A snag was only hit when Atemu died. The avalanche in the Valley of the Kings was never supposed to happen, and we were powerless to stop it.

"Faith quickly revised her plan, understanding that the circumstances had changed greatly in a matter of seconds. Her two entities, Faith and Destiny quickly traveled down to Limbo to revive Atemu's heart. The Lady of Faith was surprised by the conviction Atemu held for Yugi, and she was once again proven that she could not control the actions of Atemu entirely.

"He chose to remember the captain; a choice Faith feared might have serious repercussions. She was afraid Yugi would die in the final battle if the two soul mates remembered each other, upsetting the balance of Light and Dark. It would have most likely have happened if Atemu hadn't thought quickly.

"She revived Dartz's soul, acting as though she was his ally. Her intention was for him to sacrifice the last part of his soul if he was pushed into a corner. He took the bait, and pushed the last part of his humanity into the millennium puzzle to gain full 'immortality'. What Dartz didn't know, was that only gods can be fully immortal, and even then, we can still be killed by one another." Horace touched his gauged out eye.

"What Dartz gained by sacrificing his soul was a sham of immortality. No mortal weapon would be able to kill Dartz, and in theory, he would live forever. Atemu was only able to kill him by adding the smallest amount of shadow magic left in the millennium key into Dartz's blade, impaling him, and banishing his soulless body into a world of nothingness. That made it impossible for Dartz ever to come back to life or be reincarnated." Horace glanced at Atemu and Yugi.

"That's why Aknaunkanon HAD to die, so Dartz would have something to sacrifice his soul to." He fixed a soft yellow eye on Yugi, "And that's why Solomon HAD to die, so Atemu would have something to kill Dartz with."

The room was stunned into silence, and having completed their task, Horace and Seth left.

Seconds later, Mariku and Malik entered the quiet room.

"So," Mariku looked around the chamber in morbid curiosity, "What did we miss?"

-

It had been a month since the Dartz fiasco. Atemu was just now getting used to sitting down without having to wince. And being pharaoh.

"Your highness, the water supply is low in Thebes and near the border of Sudan, the peasants complain that the prices are too high, and an order of rice that was meant for a peasant was accidentally given to a Lord of a neighboring country"

Atemu rubbed his temples to push back a forming migraine and looked at Seto. "How are the repairs going in Aswan and Kul Elna?" He asked tiredly.

Seto glanced down at the roll of papyrus stretched in front of him. "They're going very slowly," Blue met crimson, "It will take a while for the damage Dartz created to be undone." Atemu sighed heavily, "I thought as much." He said glumly.

For a long time Seto and Atemu stood in silence, each unwilling to break the few quiet moments they had. Atemu shot Seto a sly look.

"How about...-?"

"No."

"Come on..."

"No, we are not putting off our duties."

Atemu blinked his eyes in mock hurt, "Please Seto?" He pleaded, "Egypt can manage itself for a day" adding slyly, he mumbled, "And you know you want to see Jounichi..."

Seto flushed a dark shade of chocolate and busied himself with checking an invisible smudge on his scroll.

Smelling victory, Atemu pressed on, "And imagine the quality time you two could have..." Hint, hint. Nudge, nudge. Stabby, stabby.

Seto took the bait apprehensively, "Only if we work all day tomorrow..."

Eagerly, Atemu agreed to the high priest's terms. He could always come up with some reason to squirm out of his duties again tomorrow. Without waiting for Seto to add another condition to the pact, the pharaoh fled the throne room, searching for a certain star-headed general.

Seto sighed. He might not have wanted to show it, but he was eager to spend some alone time with his puppy. They still hadn't worked out their..._differences... _

-

When the high priest finally met up with Jounichi, he found the puppy pouring over old library records. Bakura and Ryou were busy snogging in a darkened corner of the old record room.

"What are you doing?" Seto asked, catching the blond unaware.

Jounichi spun on his heel, Seto's arrival taking him by surprise. "I was bored!" He said defensively. His honey brown eyes darted back and forth. Impulsively, Seto reached a hand outward and ruffled Jou's unruly mop of straw colored hair.

Shocked, Jounichi pulled away from Seto's hand as though electrified; and Seto, finally comprehending what he just did, snatched his hand back like it had been burned. 

The two stared at each other in a tense, awkward silence, both unable to voice the thoughts that begged to be spoken.

The silence stretched into minutes, and soon Seto thought it would be best for him to spend his day off in the gardens, or in his room, away from his puppy; since the blond obviously didn't want to be around him. Before he turned to leave, Jounichi's voice interrupted him.

"Hey," He started. Seto looked at him questioningly.

"I still haven't gotten you back for dat kiss y'know." He snorted

Seto looked confused before the memory came back to him. His mouth formed an open 'O,' and the high priest thought with some embarrassment, that Jounichi was probably going to punch him.

He wasn't wrong.

The punch came to his lower jaw, and Seto's chin snapped upward with the force of the blow. Luckily Seto had been expecting the hit, but it still didn't stop his lip from bleeding from when he bit down. 

The punch didn't hurt, not as bad as the silent rejection did. Slightly ashamed, Seto turned around again to leave. He vowed wordlessly that he would never acknowledge the blond again, since obviously, Jounichi wanted nothing to do with him. 

This time he _was _wrong.

He was once again stopped by the blond. Not by his fist or a cruel rejection, but by something far better; a kiss.

The soft lips moved against his, licking the blood away from Seto's torn mouth. A feral grin worked its way across Jounichi's mouth, and he wrapped his arms around a stunned high priest. "Pay back's a bitch. You're stuck with me now."

Pulling himself together in record speed, Seto returned the embrace. "I think I can live with that." He whispered. The high priest once again bent his lips down and captured Jounichi's mouth in a possessive kiss...

...which was interrupted by a wolf-whistle and a loud, '_Get your OWN goddamn room!'_ from Bakura.

-

Yugi and Atemu found themselves in the garden seconds after the pharaoh had departed from the throne room; they now were nothing more than a tangle of limbs that were happily wrestling on the carefully positioned stone walkway.

Yugi managed to squirm onto of Atemu, pinning him underneath his slight body. Surprisingly enough, Atemu made no effort to get out from underneath the much smaller teenager. Once both of their laughter had died away, Atemu gazed seriously at the one he knew to be his soul mate.

"Yugi," He said softly, gently sitting up and positioning Yugi on his lap. He placed a smooth line of kisses leading from Yugi's neck to his jaw. Atemu's lips hovered above Yugi's; his breathe lightly fanning over the teenager's face.

Amethyst eyes slide shut and Yugi bathed in Atemu's presence. He had trouble convincing himself that Atemu was still here. But there he was, sitting behind Yugi with his arms wrapped around the ex-captain's shoulders; those desirable lips floating just out of his reach... He tried to close the distance between them, but only resulted in knocking his forehead against Atemu's.

Atemu obviously wanted to talk, and he wasn't going to give Yugi what he wanted until he voiced his concerns. Wincing slightly, Yugi opened his eyes to glare mildly at Atemu. "Yes?"

The pharaoh smiled with considerable amusement; Yugi's fervor was obviously a constant source of entertainment, but when Atemu realized what he was about to ask of the Light, he steeled himself for rejection. "What now?" He asked quietly.

If Yugi was confused by the question, he didn't show it. Instead he frowned regretfully. He knew what Atemu was going to bring up, and truthfully, he had been going to bring the topic up himself. "You want to know how long I'll be staying in the palace." He stated nonchalantly, a tinge of bitterness that did not pass undetected. Although he had been expecting the new pharaoh to bring up the subject of Yugi's extended stay in the palace, the general did not want to intrude on Atemu's hospitality any longer than was necessary.

Atemu's dark eyebrows shot to his hairline. He clearly didn't expect Yugi to breach the subject. Silently, he nodded. A shadow crossed Yugi's face but disappeared as quickly as it came. "Don't worry" He assured Atemu cheerfully, "I'll be out of your hair soon enough!"

The new pharaoh frowned at these words. Atemu reached a hand out and cupped one of Yugi's pale cheeks. Crimson eyes searched Yugi's face carefully, looking for a sign of any pain hidden in the lilac orbs he had come to love. "But what if I don't want you to leave?" He asked softly.

There Atemu saw a change in Yugi's demeanor. In the open gems, Atemu spotted a flash of complete shock strike in Yugi's eyes, and for a moment, Atemu felt that he could see into Yugi's mind. He saw all the insecurity Yugi felt, and his huge fear of abandonment. He desperately wanted to stay beside Atemu forever and he returned the feeling in full. "I want to you stay here in the palace with me..." He whispered, looking straight into Yugi's soft pools of lavender. "Stay by my side and rule Egypt with me."

Dumbfounded, Yugi couldn't help the tears that welled in his eyes. "Why?" He breathed, unable to understand just what Atemu was trying to say.

Atemu explained it in the best way he knew how; by pressing his lips first on Yugi's forehead, than his nose, and finally his lips. "I love you" He muttered, drawing away. And then, like a wild animal, inside his chest his heart seared with a mad desire, and he whispered another breathless 'I love you' before capturing Yugi's lips in a scorching kiss.

When they drew away again, Atemu looked deeply in Yugi's lidded eyes. "Will you say yes?"

"Yes... I'll stay with you forever..."

_Seto insisted upon Jounichi's stay at the palace and Atemu gladly agreed, grateful for any excuse to neglect his duties and play for a little while. They too married, and their arguments are feared and infamous throughout the land of Egypt._

_Bakura and Ryou moved into a comfortable house in Cairo, where they (Bakura) entertain (terrorizes) the children and guards. _

_Mariku was reinstated as a palace guard and never lets Malik out of his sight (which pisses him off). Their arguments are almost as infamous as Seto and Jounichi's._

_And although Atemu was young when he took his place as Pharaoh, he and Yugi managed to lift Egypt from the turmoil Dartz had created. They lived long, and were occasionally visited by Horace (with a disgruntled Seth in tow)._

_All and all, this war of hearts had been won, and Egypt was at peace._

_ Fin_

_**WAAAAAH!!! IT'S OVER!!! OOOOOOH HOLY CRAP! I FINISHED A STORY!!!! SOMEONE PLEASE CALL THE Vatican! **_

_**I'd like to thank the reviewers who were ALWAYS constant and made me smile with their witty comments, YOU know who you are!**_

_**And I'd like to thank my editor, Moondalian, who kicked my butt into gear so I could finally crank this final chapter out! **_

_**THANKS GUYS! Teratos High will be posted soon!**_

_**Read and Review!!!**_

(My fic is done! OMGZZZ) 

Slight


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